Chapter 32: Godok-Style Training Method (2)
“Haahp!”
“Ugh!”
“Urraahh!”
Mighty shouts echoed from the vacant lot behind Eddy’s hideout.
These were the sounds coming from the gangsters who had responded to Harang’s special guidance.
Though it wasn’t the unified voice one might see in the military, the determination and spirit revealed in their expressions were formidable enough that no one could ignore them.
Of course, there were still those who harbored doubts.
‘No matter how I look at it, this is just ordinary physical training…….’
‘Really, can we get stronger just by doing this?’
In a way, it was natural.
The movements the gangsters were currently performing—Knee Ups, Burpees, Jumping Squats, Push-ups, and the like—were merely a sequence of simple actions that any able-bodied person could manage.
Therefore, many gathered in the vacant lot couldn't help but glance towards Harang with yearning eyes even as they continued their exercises.
Teach us something more amazing.
Teach us a method that’s remarkably eye-catching!
As if shouting just that, Harang yelled with an expressionless face while looking at the gangsters' faces.
“A little more vigorously!”
“Even if you do just one movement, do it properly!”
“If you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to. I won’t stop you from leaving.”
“You, the person back there. Yes, the one with the snake tattoo on your arm! Are you not doing it properly?”
He commanded the people like an emotionless doll.
Thus, the gangsters had to suppress their complaints deep within their hearts and continue the simple, tedious training.
And a short while later.
“Heok, heok……!”
“I’m, I’m gonna d-die, gonna die……!”
“Keoheok, kuuheup, heu. Heueoheoheo…….”
Sounds of dying began to emerge from most mouths.
It couldn’t be helped.
Just because the movements were simple, did that mean they were easy?
Absolutely not.
The movements Harang instructed demanded such high physical stamina that an ordinary person would struggle to follow for even five minutes.
They continued doing these things, allowed only brief rests.
It was truly relentless, continuous, endlessly (repeated/linked).
Sweat poured down like rain.
Their breathing became so ragged it felt like their lungs would pop out.
Despite all this, Harang remained unchanged.
Still like an emotionless metal doll, he pointed out the slacking gangsters one by one.
Glen, who was young and running errands nearby instead of participating in the training, became a little curious and asked.
“Excuse me, Boss Harang……”
“I told you, you can just call me Brother.”
“Ah, sorry, it’s become a habit…… Then, Brother Harang.”
“What is it?”
“Can we really get stronger just by following these simple movements?”
“No.”
“Pardon?”
“Not with just this. But if this work isn’t supported, then truly nothing can be achieved. Hey, Mr. Baldy over there! Yes, the one pointing at yourself with your finger! Stop pretending your legs gave out! I know you still have energy left!”
“Heok?”
The singled-out Baldy sucked in a sharp breath.
He was bewildered.
He couldn’t believe Harang had instantly recognized and picked him out from among the large crowd of 200 people, especially while he was acting like he was about to collapse from agony.
However, after seeing several other gangsters being pointed out and reluctantly increasing their pace with a ‘Tsk’, he had no choice but to believe it.
‘How does he pick everyone out?’
With an expression of incomprehension, Baldy also began to pick up his pace like the others.
But that too was brief.
“Eu…… Euhuk, keoheok, heuh, heueo-eok……!”
Even he, who boasted relatively good stamina, couldn't help but make dying sounds like everyone else.
It was unavoidable.
This wasn’t a training method that ended after completing a set number of repetitions, but a hellish training method that only concluded when one used 100% of their stamina and collapsed from exhaustion.
In other words, it was one of the Godok-style training methods.
Consequently, whether one had weak stamina or strong stamina, everyone inevitably ended up crawling on the ground in the end.
Thump, Baldy collapsed onto the ground and looked around.
While most gangsters were writhing like insects, only Eddy, Pale, and a few other executive-level figures were continuing the training.
‘Just how long does this hellish training go on…….’
“Hey, Baldy! Get up!”
“Heek! I, I, my legs have given out now……”
“I know you can still do a little more. Get up!”
“…….”
Stumbling to his feet, Baldy burned with enmity.
No, adding a bit of exaggeration, a feeling close to killing intent flew towards Harang and struck him.
Of course, there was nothing he could do about it.
Who was he?
He was the monster who had devoured Marzen’s back alleys in less than two months.
Challenging such a being? It was a hundred times, a thousand times better to follow his words, no matter how hellishly difficult.
‘Besides, once today is over, I don’t have to come out anymore…….’
That’s right.
Harang had clearly said so.
That they didn’t have to follow.
That if they didn’t want to, it was fine not to show up starting tomorrow.
‘Damn it, who would follow such ignorant training…….’
It was a mistake.
He had come gleefully because a strong individual rarely seen in the underworld was personally teaching how to become stronger, but it seemed he had no intention of teaching the real secret.
It was understandable.
Just as graduates from prestigious swordsmanship schools don't teach Aura cultivation methods to just anyone, he probably wanted to monopolize his own know-how.
‘Forget it. What kind of training is this.’
Thump, collapsing again, this time genuinely exhausted, Baldy thought while foaming at the mouth.
He absolutely wouldn't come tomorrow. He’d be drinking beer during that time instead.
Of course.
“Hey! Don’t let your form break! You’ll injure your joints!”
“The one with the mustache! Breathe properly!”
“Mr. Eddy! Are you already tired despite being the family’s boss?”
“Do it properly over there!”
Whether Baldy and a few others were plotting their escape or not, Harang simply continued to guide the gangsters with utmost sincerity.
* * *
‘As expected, the number of people decreased right away.’
Three days later, Harang, who came for the second joint training session, nodded his head.
About 130 people had gathered in the vacant lot.
Approximately 1/3 of the gangsters had disappeared.
He thought it was unavoidable.
This Godok-style training method was simple, but just because it was simple didn't mean it was easy.
It was a process that literally pushed one's mind and body to the limit, right to the brink of death, so it was normal not to be able to endure it without considerable resolve.
‘The Godok peers really died the moment they couldn't keep up, so they had no choice but to do it to survive, but…….’
Unless faced with such an extreme situation, enduring this process solely through one's own will would be extremely difficult.
In that respect…….
“Heok, heok! Keoheok!”
Glen, who had decided to join from this second training session despite having witnessed the hellscape unfolded on the first day, felt quite impressive.
He hadn't joined just to pay lip service or because he felt obligated.
Despite his weak physical strength, this boy strived with all his might to keep up with the adults' pace, so much so that Harang had to caution him.
‘This level of willpower is something I’d only expect to see from my Godok peers…….’
What on earth made this boy like this?
He couldn't know, but at least it wasn't a bad feeling.
“Hm.”
He looked at the gangsters training hard.
Even though it was the second time, they continued the movements with faces that looked like they were about to die even more than before, but Harang had no intention of going easy on them.
‘It will take quite some time for results to show…… but it’s still a necessary process.’
What is the essential power for humans to become stronger?
There might be various things, but among them, the most important is Aura.
Without the mystical power called Aura, humans degenerate into beings weaker than mere beasts.
Then, by what method does that incredible power accumulate?
Harang believed that the training of mind and body was the most crucial part when accumulating Aura.
Once a vessel capable of holding more energy was completed, the wondrous power flowing through the world would naturally fill it.
Could it be proven?
Yes.
At least, Harang and his peers thought so.
Their minds and bodies hardened through experiencing countless near-death crises.
Among those who possessed this, none had ever worried about having an insufficient amount of Aura.
‘Besides, the more the body develops, the better the efficiency of Aura.’
The second concept of the 6 Aura Concepts, Enhancement, and the third, Hardening.
These could make even a child's frail arm as strong and hard as if wielding ironwood, but they demonstrated far greater power when residing in the body of an able-bodied adult male.
It showed multiplicative efficiency, not additive.
Therefore, the current training was a necessary step to master the three basic stages among the 6 Aura Concepts: Accumulation, Enhancement, and Hardening.
‘Still, since they are basically people with better bodies than average adult males…….’
Perhaps in about 3 months, they might reach a level suitable for moving on to the next stage?
He was having such thoughts when.
“Son of a bitch! I can’t take this anymore!”
“Heok!”
“Heok!”
One of those diligently doing interval training suddenly spat out curses, causing several startled individuals to gasp.
Even the original members, the executives of the Eddy Family, were quietly following the training, yet someone dared to say such things?
However, the person who stood up, a gangster formerly from Travion's side, didn't care.
With glaring eyes and a flushed face, he ran up to Harang and said.
“Damn it, does this even make sense right now?”
“What does?”
“Didn’t you say you’d make us stronger! Then what the hell is this pointless crap!”
“I am making you stronger, so what’s the problem?”
Harang asked back with a genuinely perplexed expression.
It was only natural, as he and his Godok peers had all become stronger this way.
If the people he encountered outside in the world had been stronger than the Godok graduates, his method might have been proven wrong, but at least until now, there had been no such person.
Therefore, Harang held a certain conviction about this training method.
However, the former Travion gangster didn't think so.
Of course, he didn't attack Harang.
He, who seemed about to argue further, just huffed indignantly and eventually left the vacant lot while packing his belongings.
Harang took it in stride.
He was used to seeing dropouts. It had been the same during his Godok days.
The only difference was that dropping out in Godok Village meant death?
‘But in the outside world, quitting doesn’t mean you die.’
It was perfectly understandable.
However, the words the man muttered softly as he passed by bothered him slightly.
“Damn it, I thought he’d at least teach us some cultivation method (Yeongongbeop)……”
‘Yeongongbeop? What’s that?’
A word he heard for the first time in his life.
Judging by the nuance, it felt related to the current training, but he couldn't quite grasp it.
Of course, it wasn't particularly special since there were many words he heard for the first time besides this one, but it strangely lingered in his memory for a long time.
‘I guess I can ask later.’
More importantly, supervising the training of those who remained was crucial.
Just like the first day, Harang spent his time constantly watching the gangsters, encouraging them, pointing out mistakes, and sometimes correcting their posture.
“Come on, come on! Just a little more effort!”
“You, second from the back! Your jump is too low!”
“You need to pay attention to your posture!”
Thus, the second joint training session finally ended.
The gangsters, once again half-dead, staggered back to their respective places.
Glen was so completely exhausted that Eddy had to carry him on his back.
Of course, Harang wasn't worried.
Instead, he showed a faint, pleased smile, which only served to creep out the gangsters.
After everyone had left like that.
Harang, standing alone in the desolate vacant lot and continuing his thoughts, newly realized that there was something that caught his interest even more than ‘Yeongongbeop’.
‘I’ve only ever learned, I’ve never taught anyone before…….’
In that process, he too was gaining something.
Realizing this surprising fact, he smiled and nodded his head.