* * *
'How many days have passed since I fainted?'
As soon as Jin opened his eyes, he could see his brethren looking down at him with worried faces as always.
"You're awake, Brother Jin."
"I've lost count of how many times I've heard that. I'm tired of losing consciousness now. How much time has passed this time?"
"Two days."
"Ha."
A sense of defeat, or anger. Those emotions were burning hot within Jin's chest.
Splash, splash! No matter how many times he drank the cold water that Nata offered him, there was no sign of the heat going away. The more Jin thought about it, the more he felt like he was going crazy because he hated the chaos.
"What the hell happened inside? I didn't expect you to come back after a minute or two after you went in. Not anyone else, Brother Jin...…."
"Tell us what happened for now."
"I went in and it was his subspace. He was even bigger, right in front of me, and he just knocked me out with one strike. He even read my thoughts, just like I did when he was outside."
There wasn't much to explain. The outcome was decided in a single blow.
"He even said in there that my shadow force wasn't threatening at all. That damn bastard could talk. He even mocked me, asking how it felt to be on the receiving end of a powerful front paw swing... I've never been so helpless before."
"Is this really your first time?"
Vahn spoke as she sat down next to the bed where Jin was lying.
While Jin and the other brethren took the situation seriously, unlike them, Vahn seemed to find it amusing, wearing a subtle smile.
"When you first came here, most of us thought of you as a naive genius. Probably because you hadn't faced many defeats outside, and we assumed your mental strength would be weak."
"Sister battle god."
"But the truth was, brother Jin, you were someone familiar with defeat. When you first came to Laprarosa, you couldn't help but get beaten by the other brethren until you left."
"That's true."
"So, don't attach any special meaning to this defeat."
Jin felt like he was waking up.
As Vahn mentioned, he had already experienced numerous defeats. He had faced greater despair and absurdity than being drained of his strength by chaos countless times.
In particular, compared to the time before his regression, when he fell into the curse, the current situation was somewhat 'manageable.'
"Brother Jin."
"Yes, sister battle god."
"Let me ask you one thing. Do you still want to deal with him on your own, without the help of me and others?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Then, you will train from now on."
Vahn decisively reached a conclusion.
"The time given to you is three years, and within that time, I and the other brethren will personally train you to be able to defeat him. And you will have a rematch with him whenever you reach a certain level."
Unlike Jin, the Plutonians did not experience chaos in subspace. They had no choice but to infer his martial arts based on Jin's explanation, and the gap in progress was so great that they couldn't know exactly.
One thing was certain; at the moment, Jin was considered to be at a level where he could be defeated with ease.
It wasn't a matter of training for a day or two; it meant that Jin had to be prepared for death every time he entered the subspace.
"I don't know if it was luck or if there were other reasons. You came back alive today, brother Jin. Even if you lose in the next fight, you just need to survive and escape."
Of course it was dangerous, but the Plutonians remembered what Vahn had said.
"Um, I'm worried about Brother Jin. As sister battle god said, training is originally something that can lead to death..."
"If Brother Jin wants to fight alone, there really is no other solution."
Jin and the Plutonians seemed to agree with Vahn's opinion in an instant.
"In addition, other brethren also undergo training with Brother Jin."
"So sister Vahn, when do you think my next rematch will be?"
"A month later."
It was an insufficient amount of time to narrow the gap. Even the Plutonians seemed to question whether it was okay to be that fast, but Vahn was firm.
"You will fight again in a month to gather more information about him. Reconnaissance, assessment, combat, escape. Since only brother Jin can do all of these, it will be a long and dangerous battle. Everyone, move to the second training ground."
* * *
That one month became the most hellish time in Jin's life, and it was truly just the 'beginning.'
'I never thought there would come a day when I wish the next day wouldn't come because training is so painful...'
Ugh, as he vomited up his gastric juices, Jin got goosebumps all over his body.
The Plutonian tribe's training was incomparably rough compared to that of humans. However, the standard of 'battle god' was higher than that.
The other members of the Plutonian tribe were also staring at each other in a state of near death. However, they quickly regained their energy after just a few hours of rest, and Jin continued to train with a taste of death lingering.
Vahn relentlessly informed Jin that the scheduled rematch date was imminent.
"Brother Jin, you take a day off and enter the door tomorrow. So, today's training is over."
Jin misinterpreted her words as an instruction to "rest by entering the door."
So Jin left the second training grounds and went to the central training ground (of course, Vahn thought Jin was going to the room to rest) and tried to enter the door, but was stopped by Tantel and Shaku who were standing guard. If those two weren't there, he would have faced Chaos again.
"Brother Jin, are you entering the door to rest? Sister battle god couldn't have said that!"
"It's... part of the training...…."
"We'll check, so wait a moment. Hmm, he fainted."
"Oh, well. Let's move him to his room."
When Jin opened his eyes again, it was a familiar ceiling.
'Sister battle god told me to enter the door and rest...! No, something is strange. Did I hear it wrong?'
As soon as Jin regained his consciousness, Vahn laughed at his flustered appearance as if it were funny. Then, as soon as Vahn's eyes met Jin's, she erased her expression and said this.
"Let's go, it's time for the second battle."
As always, all the brethren were waiting at the door. Since they had just gone through hellish training, the Plutonians were as sharp as honed swords.
Jin had only slept for a day. Naturally, the fatigue hadn't dissipated, and his body felt heavy, as if submerged in water.
Jin had to fight the 2nd battle in that state.
'At this point, it seems that the sister battle god is determined to kill me.'
The blind faith in the brethren, especially in Battle God Vahn. Without that, Jin would have shouted that this was madness.
"I'll be back."
"Good luck."
"Come back alive, brother Jin!"
When Jin entered the door, it was the same as last time. Darkness spread out of nowhere, and Jin heard his voice.
[Oh, are you here?]
Swoosh!
As soon as Jin faced the chaos, it felt like all the accumulated fatigue was replaced with anger. It was time to confirm the results of the hellish training...
Jin came out of the door exactly 3 minutes later.
[Anyway, you bastard. So when are we going to have a proper fight? Yawn! I'm getting bored. Yawn!]
Once again, Chaos mocked Jin to his heart's content before the crack from the shadow sword closed.
"Brother Jin is back alive!"
"Brother 5th battle king, give him treatment!"
The Plutonians made a fuss, but Vahn only spoke in a calm voice.
"Three minutes, it's much better than last time."
"Sister battle god, but Brother Jin's injuries are more serious than last time. I think he got out of there by luck this time too, but it's better to postpone the 3rd battle...…!"
"No, we will proceed with the third battle as scheduled in a month. Brother 5th battle king, use any means necessary to ensure that brother Jin can train from tonight onwards."
For Jin, it felt like there were two devils. Chaos beyond the door, and Vahn on this side of the door.
Instead, Jin felt a strange feeling along with anger.
'Somehow sister Vahn... is pretty sure that I'll never die. Am I mistaken?'
There was no time to think seriously. Indeed, Boras healed Jin 'to be able to move' from the night, and the hellish training resumed for a month right away.
"I will be back...."
[The idiot came again. Last time, you were lucky to escape, right? Today, you'll die]
Jin came back without dying.
"2 minutes and 34 seconds. It's actually shorter than last time!"
"But the injuries have decreased. Looks like sister battle god's escape training from the past two months is starting to show its effect. Brother Jin, the battle time was shortened because you escaped at the right time, right?"
A similar pattern continued in the 4th battle, which took place after another month.
Each time, Jin was easily defeated, and Chaos seemed to miss Jin by a narrow margin.
"3 minutes and 57 seconds!"
[Hehe, come at me a hundred times!]
"4 minutes and 12 seconds!"
[No, no. That's why you can't even cut one of my scales.]
"12 minutes and 36 seconds! Besides, this time Brother Jin came back with only one broken arm!"
"Just one? You call that just one? Would you like to have a broken arm?"
[You've become quite good at avoiding powerful front paw swings now, haven't you? But what to do, I haven't shown you my ultra-powerful tail swipe yet.]
"18 minutes and 27 seconds...!"
[Tch, you're running away again...…! Next time, I'll make sure to send you to the afterlife!]
The day that recorded 18 minutes and 27 seconds marked the passage of one year.
From that point on, Jin was dealing with chaos with a certain amount of mental composure. It was still very small, but hope had begun to appear.
"You miss me every time. I've been watching you quietly for the past year, and you've only been talking about it. See you in a month, wait with your neck out. Keep my strength well."
[I hate it, I hate it! Ebebebeb!]
Jin burst out laughing for the first time without even realizing it. It was the first time in the past year.
"Oh, Brother Jin has finally returned without major injuries! Any effective hits?"
"Not yet. I managed to dodge a few fatal blows, but haven't delivered significant damage."
"Where is that, Brother Jin? Great job!"
On that day, the Plutonians were in a festive mood as they saw Jin returning unscathed.
Some brethren couldn't help but shed tears, recalling the horrendous training Jin had endured during that time.
Vahn also tousled Jin's hair and praised him for the first time.
"Good job, brother Jin. In your next fight, you will be able to really intimidate him."
"I think so too, sister battle god. I've regained more strength from him, and I believe I'll reach the pinnacle of the shadow sword ultimate technique I'm mastering...."
After answering that, Jin looked at the empty space beyond the door.
Suddenly, Jin wondered what Chaos would be doing there when he wasn't around.
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