Chapter 5: Training

Opening his eyes to the sound of birds chirping, Myeol Mang sat up in his bed. Hoping that he was back in his house in Texas, but to no avail, he woke up in the room in Jin Tang's palace.

 

'I guess I'm still going to be here for a while then?' Myeol Mang thought as he got out of his bed and started to change clothes.

 

After changing clothes, Myeol Mang walked over to the entrance of the room, only to be met with a loud bang as the door was slammed open.

 

"TIME TO WAKE UP YOU TWO, YOUR TRAINING STARTS NOW!" Jin Tang exclaimed as he walked into the room.

 

Looking around the room, he noticed Myeol Mang laying down on the floor with a surprised look on his face and Sung Ho still laying on his bed in a daze.

 

"Myeol Mang, seeing how you are the first one awake, it will be your job from now on to make sure that Sung Ho gets up before training."

 

"Yes sir."

 

Slapping Sung Ho in the face, Myeol Mang exclaimed, "GET UP IDIOT!'

 

Wincing at the pain felt in his face, Sung Ho sat up and said, "Why did you hit me?"

 

"It's time to start training so get dressed and meet us outside." Said Jin Tang as he walked through the opened door. "Myeol Mang, follow me."

 

"Yes sir." Responded Myeol Mang as he followed Jin Tang into the yard outside of the building they were in.

 

While waiting for Sung Ho to get done changing, Myeol Mang stood silently in the yard with Jin Tang, until he finally asked.

 

"Master Tang, why did you pick me and Sung Ho instead of the other boys in that Inn? Why was it us that got picked when we are weaker than others?"

 

Taken aback by the question, Jin Tang stood silently for a moment before finally speaking, "After sixty years of teaching students martial arts, not even one has asked me that question. They have all just gratefully accepted the training and moved on."

 

"Well, why did you?"

 

"Thanks to the experience of teaching, I learned how to see how much talent someone has just by looking at them. But the talent I saw within you was surprising."

 

"Well, how much talent do I have for martial arts then?" Myeol Mang asked with a surprised expression.

 

"That's the thing, I couldn't see your talent, so either you have so little that it's not even noticeable, or you have so much that seeing it would be impossible. That is why I took a gamble by bringing you and Sung Ho in."

 

Just as Jin Tang finished his sentence a building door opened behind them and Sung Ho walked out of the room while yawning.

 

"Good morning, Master." Said Sung Ho as he walked next to Myeol Mang.

 

"Good morning Sung Ho, now that you are both awake, your training will begin. The first thing you two will do is run until midday."

 

"MIDDAY?! That would kill us!" Exclaimed Sung Ho."

 

"No, it won't. You two will be running a shorter distance compared to yesterday, all you need is a goal. Something to keep pushing you to run, something to give you an unshakeable will. Loved ones, the continuation of martial arts, seeing tomorrow, anything that you desire in life can be used as fuel for your bodies to keep moving."

 

"When do we start then Master? And where will we run to?" asked Myeol Mang with a hardened expression on his face.

 

"You will start immediately, and you will run around the walls of my palace the entire time. Now hurry, the faster you start the faster it will get over." Said Jin Tang with a smile on his face.

 

'The latter was correct about his potential.' Jin Tang thought as Myeol Mang and Sung Ho started running towards the main gate of the palace. 'Still, the fact that he was able to harden his will within moments shows that he does have potential, but that still leaves me wondering, how much potential does someone have to have for it to be unrecognizable.'

 

---

 

Hours later on the outskirts of Jin Tang's palace, two boys were running without stopping, trying to stay up to not fail on the first day of training.

 

"If you're going to throw up Sung Ho just go, then start running again afterward." Said Myeol Mang as he slowly created a gap between him and Sung Ho.

 

Noticing the gap between them, Sung Ho sped up his pace to try and catch up with Myeol Mang and said, "In your dreams, If I'm going to throw up then it's going to be after we finish this part of the workout."

 

However, his face showed quite the opposite of his words, as his face looked as pale as a hare in winter.

 

"Alright fine, but if you can't continue the workout after because of your stubbornness, don't blame it on me." Replied Myeol Mang as he increased the gap between them once again.

 

Thinking about his life back in Texas more and more with each step he took, about his family, about CJ who was sent to the hospital and about the mysterious sword that sent him to this place, Myeol Mang continued to run despite his aching body telling him to stop.

 

"OKAY, YOUR TIME IS UP!" Shouted Jin Tang as he landed in front of Myeol Mang.

 

Falling to the ground from exhaustion, at Jin Tang's feet, Myeol Mang gasped for air as the five hours of running had worn him out completely.

 

"Myeol Mang, what was your motivation during your run?"

 

"I was … haaah … thinking about … haaah … a sword I've seen before." Replied Myeol Mang as he slowly started to catch his breath.

 

"A sword? Do you mean a sword technique?"

 

"No … haaah … A sword, one I'm determined to see again … haaah … regardless of what my body goes through."

 

"Is there anything else? You were speeding up abnormally at the end of the run, where usually, you would have slowed down from the fatigue. It's even more abnormal since you haven't had any training in the past."

 

"Well, I did think about my family for a minute." Said Myeol Mang as he had finally caught his breath.

 

"Well then, go ahead to the main building, that is where lunch is being served. I will discuss the next part of today's training with you there."

 

"Wait, what are you going to do?"

 

"I'm going to get Sung Ho, as he passed out after trying to shorten the gap between you two again."

 

"Alright, I will see you after lunch then Master." Myeol Mang said as he slowly stood up and walked towards the main building.

 

---

 

Arriving at the main building, Myeol Mang opened the main doors only to be met with a large dining hall filled with servants either sitting down at a table or bringing out food to a large table at the back of the hall.

 

Seeing Myeol Mang walk into the hall, one of the servants placing food on the large table walked over to him and spoke.

 

"Myeol Mang, Master Tang has requested that you eat at his table today. Please follow me."

 

Following the servant to the large table at the back of the hall, Myeol Mang felt uneasy from the gazes coming at him from every direction. Letting out a heavy sigh as he had reached the table where Jin Tang wanted him to eat, Myeol Mang pulled out a chair from the side of the table and sat down.

 

Seeing the open assortment of food on the table, and him being very hungry from the running, Myeol Mang reached out to grab some chicken to put it on his plate, but just as he was about to grab the food.

 

Thudd!

 

The sound of a door slamming open startled Myeol Mang, and he turned around to see what the loud noise was. Seeing the open doors at the beginning of the hall, Myeol Mang was surprised to see four people walk in the door. All wearing pure white robes with black traces along the torso and arms, the people walked over to the table that Myeol Mang was sitting at.

 

"Hey, who told you that you could sit at our table?" Asked the man in front.

 

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Myeol Mang responded with a confused look, "I was asked by Master Tang to sit here today. Is there a problem?"

 

"YOU were asked to sit with Master Tang? Who are you to receive such an honor?"

 

"I'm Myeol Mang, Master Tang's new student. Now, who are you to receive this honor as well?"

 

"I'm Seok Hwan, one of Master Tang's existing students, this is Mi Yeon, Sang Chul, and Seo Jun. "

 

"Ah, so you're all students of Master Tang as well, then please sit." Said Myeol Mang as he offered his chair to Seok Hwan.

 

"That will not be necessary, Myeol Mang."

 

Hearing someone talk behind him, Myeol Mang turned around to see who spoke. Only to find Jin Tang standing on the other side of the table.

 

"Master Tang, when did you get here?" Seok Hwan asked.

 

"I arrived a minute ago, I hid my presence because I wanted to see how Myeol Mang would handle meeting you. Now please, everyone, sit and eat."

 

Sitting down at the table, Myeol Mang sat across from Seok Hwan and started to move food from the table onto his plate while listening to the conversation between Seok Hwan and Jin Tang.

 

"So Master, I didn't know you accepted another student, I thought you said that our group would be the last."

 

"I did say that, but there is a good reason why I changed my mind for this boy and his friend."

 

"Wait, there are two of them? Where is his friend now?"

 

"He is currently passed out in his room, I just put them through the running training."

 

"So, wait, Myeol Mang managed to not pass out during the training?"

 

"Neither of them passed out during the training, only Sung Ho passed out after."

 

"AFTER!? It took us weeks to withstand the running! If you took in two more students they must have good potential, how much more potential does Myeol Mang have!?"

 

"That's the thing, I don't know."

 

"WHAT!?" Replied all four students in unison.

 

"It's true, I cannot tell how much potential he has, but based on just the running. I would say his potential is far better than yours Seok Hwan."

 

"..."

 

Biting into a piece of chicken as the conversation ended, Myeol Mang looked up only to notice all four of Jin Tang's students looking at him with surprised expressions. Guessing that they would still have questions about him, Myeol Mang said.

 

"Is there anything else you would like to know about me?"

 

"Yes, there is one thing." Replied Sang Chul.

 

"What type of martial arts are you thinking of learning?" Sang Chul asked as he reached out to grab a piece of food from the table.

 

"I haven't given it much thought. However, I do know that I want to learn about sword techniques." Myeol Mang replied as he took a sip of water.

 

"The sword, huh. Well then doesn't that mean you and Mi Yeon get him, Seo Jun?"

 

"Huh?"

 

"I guess, it's been a while since I've trained with someone weaker than me."

 

"Wait, what do you mean by 'Get me'?"

 

"When Master Tang's new students start learning martial arts, they get paired up with an older student to learn the basics before training directly with Master Tang."

 

"Wait, so I'll be learning about the sword from Seo Jun or Mi Yeon and not Master Tang?"

 

"No, it's only temporary, it's to see where you stand in terms of fighting potential."

 

"Alright that's enough, Myeol Mang, finish eating, we are going to start training again." Said Jin Tang as he stood up from the table.

 

"Yes, Master."

 

Getting up from the table, Myeol Mang followed Jin Tang outside the dining hall and followed him to a building behind the main building of the palace.

 

Walking behind Jin Tang into the building, Myeol Mang looked around the room to see what type of equipment he would be training with. Only seeing piles of rocks in the corner, Myeol Mang asked.

 

"What will I be training with?"

 

"For now, you will be training with only your body, nothing else. But as time moves on you will move on using the rocks inside the building to continue your training."

 

"Okay, so what is my first workout going to be?" Myeol Mang asked as he rolled his shoulders to loosen them.

 

"You're going to start with pushups," Jin Tang explained as he started doing pushups on the stone floor.

 

"For how long?"

 

"Today, you will work out for an hour without a break."

 

"What about Sung Ho, will he have to do this when he wakes up?"

 

"No, usually when I start to train people they pass out during the running, so he won't have to do anything else today. Now get ready, you're going to start soon."

 

Getting down on the floor in a pushup position with one knee holding him up in anticipation of the impending workout. Myeol Mang thought.

 

'Just push ups? Even though I didn't work out in the real world, I know that just doing pushups won't be enough to work the entire upper body.'

 

"Begin."

 

Hearing Jin Tang gives the signal to start the workout. Myeol Mang started doing pushups at a brief pace. However, at the fifteen-minute mark, his pace slowed down tremendously and continued to drop as time went on until he was barely doing one pushup per minute.

 

Using every single ounce of strength in his upper body, Myeol Mang desperately struggled to continue doing pushups as he thought that the hour was over.

 

"Halfway done. Not bad."

 

Hearing that it had only been thirty minutes of the workout, Myeol Mang started to scream in his head because of the pain in his arms as he continued to do pushups.

 

Not wanting to restart the workout, Myeol Mang tried to muster every bit of strength from his whole body. His legs tightened, his core flexed, his shoulders rolled back, his elbows locked to hold the position. As Myeol Mang dropped into another pushup he took a deep breath, only exhaling as he drove up from the ground.

 

Suddenly, while going down to start another pushup, Myeol Mang's eyes dropped uncontrollably until everything went black as his head hit the floor.

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