Free Web NovelChapter 9: Training (1)
The night didn’t pass as smoothly as he had expected.
The house was even dirtier than he had thought, and to make matters worse, various pests lurked throughout the house.
For example, one of them resembled a black cockroach, but with four sharp wings, and eight sharp eyes that was tightly packed.
It was as large as a fist, making it even more terrifying.
There were also strange spiders bigger than a palm.
There is also an creature resembling a maggot with crimson eye in the middle of its belly.
Without Fred’s help in killing these pests, he might have ended up sleeping outside.
Afterwards, they finally finished cleaning the entire house.
He slumped onto a worn couch, overwhelmed by exhaustion. He hadn’t slept at all, and it was already deep into the night.
Thankfully, unlike in the forest, he could still see a lot of things around him, which made him feel more secure.
His gaze drifted to the skeleton standing.
Ryven yawned softly.
"Fred, wake me up in five hours."
As soon as he said that, he closed his eyes and quickly drifting off to a deep sleep.
Five hours slowly passed.
Ryven was abruptly awakened by a sharp surge of pain in his back. Fred, having no proper way to wake him, had simply hit him.
Ryven rolled off the couch, wincing from the impact.
"Damn it, that hurt!"
Ryven cried out. After a few seconds, he bit his lip, forcing himself to calm down and swallow any curse words he was about to scream.
Once he regained his composure, he shot Fred a fierce glare. The skeleton, however, only tilted its head in confusion.
With Fred’s reaction, Ryven could only sigh helplessly. He stared at the skeleton for a long time.
Eventually, he gave up wasting time, and went through his usual routine.
He quickly finished eating and cleaning himself.
Recalling that he still had to head to the training ground and speak with the village chief, he couldn’t help but find it troublesome.
Stepping outside, he walked for quite some time before finally spotting the main part of the Reinett Village.
It was lively, with people moving about and tending to their daily routines, some selling fruits along the roadside
Eventually, he arrived at the training grounds.
It didn’t take long until he was quickly spotted Instructor Lawrence.
"Good, you’re just in time," Lawrence said, eyeing him critically. "Your physique isn’t great, so we’ll start with the basics. Run ten kilometers." fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
He paused briefly before continuing.
"Then do twenty push-ups, twenty pull-ups, one hundred squats, at least a hundred punches, and run about ten kilometers daily."
"But don’t overdo it. Only push as far as your body can handle, and do it consistently for a week."
"However, if you’re capable of more than twenty push-ups or pull-ups, push past it. It’ll make your training more effective."
He spoke in a reserved tone, while his gaze drifting toward the others engaged in different routines.
"That’s it?" Ryven asked, a little puzzled. "I won’t be training here like the others?"
"No. You’ll do only what I’ve assigned,"
Instructor Lawrence replied calmly. "You can train whenever you want, just make sure you complete everything I told you."
In truth, the training he gave was a also a test, it was a test in how devoted he was in changing. If he proved lazy or inconsistent, Lawrence will have no intention of continuing to train him.
With that said, Ryven gave a small nod before turning away. Instead of starting his training right away, he decided to visit the chief first.
The path was fairly long, as the village chief’s mansion, like his house, it was somewhat isolated from the main village.
As the surroundings grew quieter, Ryven understood he was getting close. Not long after, he arrived at the mansion when someone suddenly greeted him from behind.
"Good morning. May I ask who you are?"
A youthful servant stood there, smiling warmly.
"Yes, good morning as well. I am Ryven Calestair. You should have seen me a day ago."
The servant in front of him was a young girl with short brown hair, the same one who had served them food the previous day.
She hesitated for a moment as she searched her memory. Slowly her eyes brightened in recognition.
"Are you perhaps... The guy who came with Young Master Hans?"
"Is there something you need to be here?"
The servant asked politely, tilting her head with a gentle charm.
"Yes, I’m here to continue my conversation with the village chief."
She nodded thoughtfully, placing a hand on her chin. "If you need to speak with the village chief, he’s on the second floor, in his office."
"Do you need assistance in going there?"
At her suggestion, he shook his head.
"There’s no need for it."
The servant blinked, then gave a slight nod. "If you say so."
With that, he headed toward the second floor. Before long, Ryven arrived at a particularly large hall.
He slowly knocked three times on the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
A few minutes passed, but Ryven didn’t receive any response. He remained patient, and after a few more minutes, he finally heard a deep voice.
"Come in."
The door creaked open, and he saw the chief village. By the looks of it, he still seemed to be in a foul mood.
"Oh, it’s you?"
He paused briefly, analyzing Ryven. Slowly, he tapped the desk with his index finger.
"I heard from the guards about your
companion’s level. And to be honest, I’m a little surprised and impressed, since she was able to defeat a Third-Stage Night Crawler."
"At that level, no less. Any normal Level Nine or even Level Ten would have been killed by a Third-Stage abomination."
As he spoke, his mood improved.
Their potential is good, nurturing would undoubtedly be a help from the village.
Also adding the fact that they showed no suspicious behavior, the chief remained at ease.
"Things happen. I guess the Third-Stage Night Crawler was simply caught off guard and had underestimated us."
Ryven decided to give a low-key answer to avoid attracting any more of the chief’s attention.
"I want to reward you for saving my son’s life, but it’s not ready yet."
At his words, the corner of Ryven’s mouth twitched slightly.
"Instead, I’d like to talk with you a secret that only a few people around the people know."
Ryven blinked, "Oh? What is it...?"
"I’ll entrust this secret to you for reasons you wouldn’t understand yet."
He spoke, shifting his tone into a serious one. "Sooner or later, our village might be wiped out..."
Ryven was speechless, looking at the village chief with a dazed expression.
The village seemed stable, and no abomination had caused any major trouble around it. So hearing what the village chief said was simply too absurd.
"Can you specify what you mean?"
Ryven questioned, his expression turning serious, his face also turned a little pale.
If what he said was true, then the salvation he sought in this village would shatter like glass.
The chief, expecting such a reaction, simply leaned back in his chair. He sighed before continuing.
"The thing is... There’s no way to escape this place. No matter how far you go, you’ll simply end up back here."
"And this is probably the safest place we have. The array barrier formed in the village is the reason we’re not getting swarmed by abominations."
"But such protection comes at a price. At the very back of the village stands a sacred statue, where we sacrifice at least three living beings every week."
"So we offer our livestock. Years have passed, and our livestocks reproduction has dwindled, only around three hundred remain."
"Most of them consisting of hens and cows."
After hearing this, Ryven interrupted and suggested.
"How about relying on crops instead? Like potatoes or fruits?"
The chief snorts at his suggestion.
"We’ve tried that. Only a few parts of the farms succeeded. Seeds, proper soil, and temperature are all the problems in planting."
"That’s why we still rely on livestock. Farming alone is not enough."
Ryven sighed, he felt extremely troubled.
Realizing he couldn’t simply leave this place, and that their time was also limited, while food shortages will soon appear, he massaged his temples, trying to compose himself.
"If this continues, then... The village will face a severe food shortage. When will the food shortage actually begin?"
"About eight months from now. By that time, at least half of the livestock dies, food shortages will begin."
The village chief explained.
"I’ll try my best to help somehow. If that’s all, I’ll take my leave now," Ryven replied.
The chief nodded and waved his hand, granting permission for him to leave.
Once outside, Ryven felt a surge of urgency to grow stronger. If he continued to laze around, his end would be inevitable.
Returning to his house, Ryven began following the instructor’s advice.
He started with push-ups. As he lowered himself into position, his arms immediately felt weak and numb.
One...
Thud.
Ryven pushed himself up, but after counting one, he collapsed onto the floor. He scratched his head, feeling a little disappointed.
If I had known I’d be transmigrated into this world, I would have trained my body...
He sighed, regret filling his chest. If he hadn’t fallen into depression back on Earth, his body would have been in far better condition.
