Squad Leader Sam paid them no mind and explained the training objective.
“You are to bring down your opponent by any means necessary until they are rendered incapable of combat.”
The trainees strongly protested the unfairness of it.
“They’re active-duty soldiers—and special forces at that.”
“Sam, what did we do so wrong?”
“Did your conscience run away from home?”
As if he had fully expected the protests, Squad Leader Sam spoke calmly.
“If a gun is the last bastion, then it’s only natural to make do with your body until then, isn’t it?”
“Just let us fight each other instead.”
“You won’t improve, and someone will get hurt.”
“Well, that’s……”
He was right.
So completely and utterly right that they couldn’t even argue.
At that moment, Squad Leader Sam gave a firm order.
“Instructors, relieve the stress you built up at the shooting range.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Training begins.”
Having set the fights in motion, Squad Leader Sam watched with interest.
At that instant, Private Anthony’s eyes flashed more intensely than anyone else’s.
“Heh heh, Trainee Kim.”
“H-Hey. Anthony? About what happened before……”
“Sorry.”
The apology came out of nowhere, and at the same time, something struck Kim Hyeokgwon’s nose.
Thwack.
“Guh. Kkh.”
Kim Hyeokgwon quickly stepped back from the dizzying pain in his nose.
At some point, Private Anthony’s stance had changed.
He had both hands raised in a guard and was lightly bouncing in place.
Kim Hyeokgwon covered his throbbing nose with one hand and widened his eyes.
“Boxing?”
“I’ll be properly warming up.”
“I can imitate that much too.”
Shff.
Kim Hyeokgwon cleverly assumed a boxing stance.
Just then, Squad Leader Sam approached from the side and added an explanation.
“For reference, Private Anthony is a talented recruit specially selected for amateur boxing.”
“You bastard, is that supposed to be a reference point? That’s a murder notice.”
“I wish you luck. Heh heh.”
Squad Leader Sam sincerely cheered him on.
At that very moment.
Swish, swish, swish.
Private Anthony stepped in swiftly with nimble footwork.
Closing the distance in an instant, he mercilessly threw punches at Kim Hyeokgwon.
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
“Kkh, ugh, argh.”
“We’re just getting started. Hup, hup. Now, let’s keep going.”
“Uaaaaagh, damn it.”
Whoosh.
No matter how furiously Kim Hyeokgwon threw punches, he only hit empty air.
A short distance away was Jeong Minsu.
Jeong Minsu was currently flying.
“Ugh!”
Splat.
Since he didn’t know the first thing about breakfalls, Jeong Minsu was literally body-slamming into the bare ground.
Corporal Guspia moved quickly despite his imposing build.
And he threw Jeong Minsu around in various ways as if handling a child.
“Aaagh, stop.”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Splat.
“Kuh-urk.”
Jeong Minsu, hurled to the ground, vehemently expressed his pain.
At that moment, Squad Leader Sam appeared and kindly offered Jeong Minsu an additional explanation as well.
“He is a heavyweight judo medalist.”
“Huk.”
“He should be the ideal opponent to draw out Trainee Jeong’s perseverance.”
“Y-You bastards, aren’t you afraid of the heavens?”
“What? I don’t know, heh heh.”
Squad Leader Sam moved away with a cruel smile.
And at Corporal Guspia’s gesture, Jeong Minsu flew through the air again.
Thwack.
“Uaaaaagh.”
Thud.
“Kuhh, no…… No.”
“Yes.”
“Uaaagh.”
No matter how much Jeong Minsu tried to run, once Corporal Guspia caught him, it was game over.
The atmosphere around Taesu was somewhat different from the previous two trainees.
He was unexpectedly facing off against Sergeant Ryan.
Taesu stood sideways, lightly bouncing on his feet.
It was the sparring stance of taekwondo, the sort of thing he had been dragged by his parents to learn at least once when he was young.
Bounce, bounce.
Maintaining a suitable distance, he kept searching for an opening.
Sergeant Ryan, on the other hand, simply stood still and looked at Taesu.
The contrast between them was stark.
To be precise, it strongly felt as though Taesu was the only one nervous and constantly moving.
Just then, Squad Leader Sam approached and showed curiosity.
“Oh, I always thought Trainee Choi had good reflexes. Was it taekwondo?”
“Hup, hup. I’ll have you know I’m a black belt. Hup, hup.”
“Your steps are clean. But is it a martial art where you just keep jumping around like that?”
“No, no. I’m just waiting for the right—an opening.”
Taesu, who had been speaking, suddenly stepped forward and shot out.
At the same time, he aimed a front roundhouse kick at Sergeant Ryan’s shoulder.
Whish.
His approach was fast, and the speed of his kick wasn’t bad either.
However.
Thwack.
“Kuh-urk.”
Taesu was hit and staggered back.
“Huh?”
Taesu was baffled.
No matter how he looked at it, his attack should have succeeded.
Throb.
At the faint tingling sensation, Taesu lowered his head.
A large footprint was clearly stamped right in the middle of the top of his uniform.
“Why is this here…… Hup.”
Slide.
When Taesu raised his head with a puzzled look, he sharply sucked in a breath.
At some point, Sergeant Ryan’s stance had changed.
Both hands were raised, his fists facing forward, and one leg was lightly lifted in a ready stance.
That distinctive ready stance was all too familiar.
It was Muay Thai.
Squad Leader Sam once again provided an annoyingly smug supplementary explanation.
“He has been recognized as an instructor in Thailand and currently runs a gym in the United States as well.”
“You’re telling me to fight when you’ve put an instructor against a beginner?”
“In particular, his teep kick—his push kick—boasts power and speed acknowledged even by professionals.”
“What about my position as the one getting hit?”
Taesu protested, but Squad Leader Sam seemed not to hear him.
“Taekwondo and Muay Thai…… Heh heh. I have high expectations.”
“Damn it.”
Whoosh.
Taesu, overcome with irritation, suddenly threw a side kick.
Surprisingly, his target was not Sergeant Ryan, but Squad Leader Sam.
It was a concise movement, and the distance was short.
It was too sudden an attack for Squad Leader Sam to avoid.
Taesu was certain his side kick had landed.
‘Serves you right.’
He even smiled in triumph.
But that expression came far too soon.
Thwack.
“Kuh-urk.”
Once again, Taesu let out a scream and was pushed back.
Why?
His eyes filled with bewilderment yet again.
In particular, Squad Leader Sam had not even shown a change in posture.
Even now, he was simply standing there in the exact same pose.
It looked as if Taesu had charged in, hit a wall, and been shoved back.
“What just happened?”
He couldn’t understand it at all.
Sergeant Ryan answered that question for him.
“The instructor is a skilled fighter who ranks among the top ten in individual combat among PKO special combatants.”
“Holy crap.”
“He also serves as close-quarters security for the Director of External Cooperation.”
After Sergeant Ryan finished his proud explanation,
Taesu quickly looked around from Squad Leader Sam to the instructors.
Every single one of them was a formidable expert.
At that moment, his honest thoughts slipped out.
“Wow, it must’ve been hard to gather people like this.”
Hearing that, Squad Leader Sam smiled broadly and replied.
“Please devote yourselves to training so that the time you spend with us will not be in vain.”
“Devote, my ass. I’m about to get beaten to a pulp right now.”
“This instructor looks forward to seeing Trainee Choi’s grit with his own eyes. Instructor.”
The moment Squad Leader Sam called out,
“Sir.”
Whish, whish.
Sergeant Ryan answered and closed the distance with Taesu.
One characteristic of Muay Thai was that it allowed both long-range and close-range attacks.
By comparison, taekwondo focused mainly on long-range attacks.
In particular, Taesu, who was fighting based on memories from long ago, lacked the improvisation to deal with close combat.
Flustered, Taesu quickly backstepped and shouted.
“H-Hey, don’t come closer.”
“Your reaction is slow.”
Thwack.
“Kyau! Damn it.”
After taking a proper hit, Taesu seethed and charged in.
Grit?
‘I’ll show you.’
His eyes blazed fiercely.
However, the result unfolded completely unrelated to Taesu’s resolve.
“Kkh, argh, ugh, kuhuurk.”
No matter what he did, only Taesu’s screams rang out incessantly.
From that day on, the same training was repeated every hour.
In the mornings, rappelling and physical training were conducted at the same time.
It was the most intensive and strict part of their education.
In the afternoons, they underwent combat training and handled various firearms.
After dinner, separate night training was conducted.
From the moment Taesu and the other two opened their eyes until they closed them, the thing they did most often was scream.
Those hours repeated every day.
With muscle pain as well as bruises added on, there was never a day without pain.
They could no longer even remember what a refreshing morning felt like.
Jeong Minsu, in particular, repeated the same words a dozen times a day.
“I hate this. I’m not doing it.”
That changed nothing.
Even if he tried to run away, they somehow caught him, brought him back, and pushed him again and again until the very end.
Thanks to that, even amid such a busy schedule, the fat Jeong Minsu had maintained began to slowly disappear.
Before they knew it, a month had passed.
Inside a shabby concrete building erected for training stood three people.
They were James and Colonel Clark.
And Squad Leader Sam was reporting while standing at attention.
“……For those reasons, we arranged this occasion.”
After the report ended,
anticipation appeared in the eyes of James and Colonel Clark.
“Oh, so they’ll be conducting a mock exercise themselves.”
“Yes, Doctor. Since I’ve kept my visits restrained all this time as well, I’m looking forward to it.”
“Doesn’t that mean you have a great deal of trust in the squad leader?”
“That is the biggest reason, but I’m afraid the excuse that I’ve been busy with work is about to come out first. Haha.”
“Isn’t it all the same?”
James and Colonel Clark laughed as they conversed affably.
It was then.
Rattle.
Three ropes poured down in long lines outside the building.
“It looks like they’re about to begin.”
“Indeed.”
Colonel Clark and James watched with interest.
Soon the ropes shook, and Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Kim Hyeokgwon appeared at the same time.
Each of them looked different.
Squad Leader Sam pointed to them one by one as he explained.
“Doctor Jeong’s rappelling method is the most basic, the L-shaped rappel.”
“Doctor James, it’s been a while. Colonel, have you been well too?”
Jeong Minsu waved his hand energetically in greeting.
James’s expression changed to one of surprise as he watched him.
“Oho, Doctor Jeong looks like half the man he used to be.”
“There’s a great deal of strength in his voice as well.”
“It’s astonishing that he could change like that.”
“It’s also good to see that his rappelling posture and speed control are all proficient.”
They each evaluated him in detail from their own perspectives.
When those words ended, Squad Leader Sam pointed at Kim Hyeokgwon and said,
“Mister Kim’s rappelling method is the waist rappel.”
“Waist rappel?”
“As you can see, its mobility is good enough to allow him to walk along the wall, but it is limited by location.”
After the explanation continued,