Finally Got Stronger but Ended Up Regressing

Chapter 15 It Doesn’t Work on Me (2)

Leaving Jo Taekwang behind, I focused on the training. The first item was starting.

“The physical strength item will be conducted in the empty dungeon you see behind you. Everyone, follow this training officer.”

“Yes!”

An empty dungeon means a dungeon where all the monsters and traps inside have been removed, literally an empty dungeon.

Even with the dangers gone, the terrain and structures remain, so it is used as a training ground.

Not just for training.

Snowy mountains become ski resorts, the sea becomes a vacation spot, the forest becomes a nature experience center, and so on. Its uses are very diverse.

Even ordinary people come and go.

So, hunters with some money buy empty dungeons instead of buildings.

They can earn several times the rent in entrance fees.

I couldn’t afford that much, so I settled for buying a small building.

Following the training officer, the soldiers entered the empty dungeon.

They were still wearing their full combat gear.

Combat helmet, combat uniform, combat boots, belt, X-band, and even training weapons.

Even with just this, the weight is considerable.

“Why do I have a bad feeling about this?”

“What bad feeling?”

“I feel like they’re going to make us run like hell in full combat gear.”

“No way, they wouldn’t make privates do that.”

But they do.

They make us do that.

That’s why I stuffed three chocolate bars into my mouth earlier.

I can’t afford to run out of energy.

“Attention, everyone.”

“Attention!”

The scenario unfolded the same as before the regression. Inside the plain terrain dungeon, with a tall mountain in the distance.

The instructor spoke to the soldiers standing with their individual gear.

“You will climb the mountain behind you as you are. You must reach the top, and the time limit is one hour. Whether you walk, run, or crawl, it’s up to you. But if you dawdle, you’ll exceed the time limit, right? Then your evaluation will drop by the amount of time you are late.”

“!”

“Do your best.”

The soldiers were in a panic at the news that struck like a bolt from the blue.

It was clearly not an ordinary mountain.

You had to look up for a long time to see its end.

“Damn, it would be hard enough to run up there even without any gear.”

“How are we supposed to climb that in an hour with just our individual gear? Are we robots?”

“Ah, this is going to be hell.”

Complaints poured out. But no matter how harsh this intensive training was, it was only demanded within the limits of what ordinary soldiers could achieve.

“One hour is doable.”

“If it were full gear, maybe not, but with individual gear, we can make it in an hour.”

So those confident in their physical strength expressed their willingness to try.

Before the regression, I was neither of these two.

I just despaired and gave up as soon as I heard it.

My physical strength was closer to that of ordinary civilians than that of ordinary soldiers.

Even without trying, the result was obvious.

But I couldn’t really say I wouldn’t do it, so I ran… and the result was as expected.

I dropped out early due to the breath that reached the tip of my chin and the pain in my body that felt like it was breaking.

It’s no different now.

Thanks to abilities like [Efficient Endurance], [Iron-Blooded Knight’s Spirit], and [Groggy], I have certainly grown in technical aspects, but my physical strength is practically the same.

So will it be the same result this time?

I shrugged my shoulders.

I can’t let that happen.

My physical strength may be the same, but my mental strength has grown much more than at this time before the regression.

No, it has grown tremendously.

If my body can’t do it, I’ll push through with sheer willpower.

That’s how I’ve lived my life.

“The instructors will follow alongside you and observe your progress. Of course, they will only observe and not intervene in any way. You should focus solely on reaching the summit. Understood?”

“Yes!”

The instructor put the whistle in his mouth.

His hand was raised high.

“Then, the prepared troops.”

*Beep-!*

“From now on, run towards the summit.”

“Wow!”

A cheer erupted spontaneously. The square formation quickly broke apart as the soldiers poured out.

The methods varied.

Some sprinted ahead from the start.

Some slowed down to find their own pace.

Or some just ran.

If I had to categorize myself, I was the second type. Considering my physical condition, I ran far behind the others.

After all, this is a long-term battle.

As we climb the mountain, the altitude increases, so the initial pace is especially important.

“Hoo, ha. Hoo, ha.”

I kept my breathing steady and paid attention to the angle of my legs to minimize effort. Other soldiers were doing the same, but they had other difficulties.

It was the equipment.

Even if you tightened the combat helmet to the limit, it would still rattle, and their weapons were cumbersome on their backs. The combat boots, with no cushioning at all, were always a problem.

The equipment of the Hunter Corps is designed with a focus on defense rather than usability.

You can’t have the equipment tearing and breaking after a few monster attacks just to make it more comfortable.

“I want to throw everything away.”

“Damn it.”

“Shit.”

As a result, the soldiers’ language became harsher than before.

Except for me.

Of course, it’s more comfortable to be without the gear, but it didn’t bother me as much as it did the others.

Because I’ve run with the gear on before.

And it’s not just 1-2 km.

Climbing the mountain or crossing the river, just like now.

The process of rising from sergeant to staff sergeant and then to master sergeant was just as arduous.

Anyway, carrying just the basic gear feels like wearing a few extra layers of clothing.

It’s just that my physical strength is the issue.

“Huff.”

As I started climbing the mountain in earnest, I already felt my breath catching.

If it were just my breathing, I wouldn’t mind and could keep going.

But my body was also screaming that it was about to die.

My legs trembled uncontrollably.

I hadn’t even reached halfway up, let alone the summit.

At that moment, a large middle-aged man passed by me.

“Hmm.”

It was Lieutenant Colonel Park Eui-cheol. He was climbing the mountain as if he were taking a stroll.

With his hands clasped behind his back, he looked very relaxed and comfortable.

He was wearing the same basic gear as me.

Of course, it wasn’t strange.

He was a lieutenant colonel, after all.

By the standards of private guild hunters, he was at least level 7.

It would be stranger if he were struggling.

In stark contrast, I was slowly reaching my limit.

My legs felt like they were about to melt from trembling.

My arms were so tired that even swinging them was difficult, and I flailed in the air like a dog paddling.

I was only halfway up.

This was exactly where I had given up before.

Before my regression.

I had stopped and caught my breath for a long time, then walked and crawled to barely reach the summit.

I received a failing grade in the evaluation.

I was the last among all the privates.

Meanwhile, other privates passed by me from the front, the side, and the back. Those with relatively better physical strength still had energy to spare.

Their very build was different from mine.

Unlike me, who is just slightly better than an average person, they had strong and sturdy muscles and bones.

It was the effect of their abilities.

Various things like [Solid Bones], [Stamina Preservation], [Endurance Boost], etc., helped them.

In game terms, it was like receiving a kind of buff.

I had none of that.

‘Most of the physical abilities are heavily reliant on proficiency, so it’s hard to unlock them immediately.’

Someone shouted in my mind.

Give up.

Just stop and rest.

Even if you keep pushing, you won’t make it within the time limit anyway.

Why are you holding on to something that won’t work?

Hey, it’s easier if you give up, you know?

It was the whisper of an invisible demon. I chuckled and shook it off.

It’s true that I felt like I was going to die.

But everything in the world depends on your mindset.

If you want to do it, there’s nothing you can’t achieve.

So what if you fail?

It all becomes bones and flesh in the name of experience.

I have nothing to lose.

“Huff, huff. Huff.”

I kept running, gasping for breath. The sensation in my legs, which were supporting my body, disappeared.

Where am I, and where am I going?

Even so, I didn’t lose my mind.

With the single thought of somehow reaching the top, I didn’t lower my head.

I ran and ran again.

“Huff. Huff. Huff.”

A strange sound came out of my mouth. The energy that had already been drained from my body was being squeezed out once more, like wringing out a dried squid.

Nevertheless, I didn’t stop.

I didn’t walk.

I didn’t give up.

With my head held high, I continued running endlessly.

I had even entered the high-level dungeons and the abyss, where the whole world seemed like hell.

How hard could this be compared to that?

Thinking back to those hardships, this was nothing.

After a long while.

The endless mountain path gradually turned into flat ground.

The bird songs that I couldn’t hear before now pierced my ears.

The beautiful scenery of the mountain finally came into view.

I had finally arrived.

It was the summit.

“?!”

“Crazy.”

The gazes of the soldiers who had arrived first were all focused on one place.

There I stood, looking emaciated.

“Didn’t they say that Guy Yunho always failed in physical strength tests…? But he passed this…?”

“Wow, it’s not even an hour yet.”

The trainers, though they didn’t show it outwardly, had their eyes wide open. They looked as if they were wondering how on earth I had made it.

“Ha.”

I wanted to shout loudly upon reaching the summit, but I didn’t even have the energy for that.

It felt like my entire body had disappeared.

At that moment.

Ding!

With a cheerful sound, the fatigue that had been weighing down my whole body disappeared.

Just when I was wondering what on earth was happening, notifications started to pop up.

《With passion for achieving your goal and unyielding perseverance, you have overcome the extreme physical condition.》

《A new ability [Instant Fatigue Recovery] has been unlocked.》

《From now on, when fatigue reaches its peak, a certain amount of it will be instantly recovered.》

《The recovery amount increases according to the level of physical strength.》

《This effect does not apply consecutively.》

I opened my eyes wide.

[Instant Fatigue Recovery].

In a word, it means getting one last chance when everything is over.

You can use this to catch the enemy off guard and seize the opportunity for a comeback.

Contrary to its simple name, its effect is tremendous.

‘I had [Instant Fatigue Recovery] even before the regression. But I thought it was an ability that could only be unlocked in extreme situations like the Abyss.’

I realized then. Even this one-hour solo mountain climb was an extreme situation for my current level.

And I had overcome such an extreme situation.

I stomped my feet on the spot. My legs, which should have collapsed from exhaustion, were jumping up and down.

My heavy body felt as light as a feather.

Of course, part of it was psychological.

Given that I was in a state where it wouldn’t be strange to faint at any moment, even a slight recovery of fatigue felt significant.

“What the hell is that guy…?”

“Hey, wasn’t that guy supposed to have the worst physical strength? He looks perfectly fine!”

Everyone’s eyes popped out in surprise as the guy who should have fainted at any moment suddenly became lively.