A Knight who Eternally Regresses - Chapter 56

Chapter 56: A Wall is a Wall

“Think of it as stretching your muscles, Brother.”

Audin’s bare-handed training method focused on breaking down and stretching each individual muscle in the body.

“Ugh.”

A groan escaped from Enkrid’s mouth. His thigh muscles were strained to the point of breaking, and Audin added more pressure by climbing onto Enkrid’s bent back.

Enkrid, who was now sitting and reaching his hands towards his toes, spoke up.

“Kill me.”

“Is that a threat?”

“I’m dying.”

His voice was barely a whisper. It really felt like his muscles were about to tear. Just a few more breaths and it might actually happen! Only when Enkrid was at his limit did Audin finally take his hands off Enkrid’s back.

“This is just the basics.”

Audin repeated the word “basics” multiple times.

One leg folded inward to press the pelvic muscles. One hand gripping a pillar, half-bending at the waist, and twisting his body. Twisting, stretching, and squeezing the body.

Yes, squeezing. There was no better word for it.

After his body was squeezed like wringed laundry, he was drenched in sweat.

Was this a form of torture?

If this was just the basics, was the advanced course about disassembling a person?

These random thoughts crossed his mind, but the conclusion was that the effects of Audin’s gymnastics were outstanding. It was painful during the exercise, but afterward, his body felt significantly lighter.

Not just lighter. His body heated up, and with his heart pounding, the warmth spread through his entire body, making the cold more bearable.

“Eat well, rest well, and move well, that’s how you endure the cold, Brother Squad Leader,” Audin said with a smile.

Enkrid nodded. Physical training was a familiar part of his daily life and the physical pain made his brain work faster. A sharp mind led to thoughts about today, making him recall the assassin who came to kill him.

‘That skill.’

He couldn’t even see how the dagger was thrown. Enkrid was quite confident in his own dagger-throwing skills.

‘Not even close.’

An exceptional skill. Nonetheless, it was something he could handle with preparation. First, the pattern was to approach and stab. If that failed, the dagger was thrown.

‘Should I say the wall is thin and low?’

The boatman of the Black River said walls kept appearing in front of Enkrid.

‘At this level.’

It was easy. That’s why he was taking it easy.

“Look, is this hard? This?”

Rem, suddenly in high spirits, jumped out of bed and imitated Enkrid’s movements perfectly. Not a single hitch, smooth all the way. His body stretched out straight, showing exceptional flexibility.

“Let’s work on our flexibility, okay?”

This guy was annoyingly smug. No, he had always been an annoying bastard.

“Is this hard? This?”

Rem kept teasing, but Enkrid cheerfully ignored him. Watching with eyes half-closed, Ragna, who had been observing both Rem and Enkrid, moved. He was also exceptionally talented in physical activities. It was natural that mastering swordsmanship beyond a certain level required a well-trained body.

Thus, Ragna perfectly replicated the movements. He selected the movements Enkrid had struggled with, like spreading his legs and bending his waist, making him another annoying type.

“Have you developed a hobby for twisting your body?”

Jaxon, who had just returned from an outing, said as he walked in. To him, it looked like a madhouse.

Enkrid, drenched in sweat, was catching his breath. In front of him was a grinning barbarian bent over, touching his toes, and beside him sat a lazybones with his legs spread.

Had everyone gone mad together?

“We’re learning a training method to withstand the cold, Brother,” Audin explained.

Jaxon, showing no interest, headed to his place. Enkrid got up as it was time to go on duty, and out of pure curiosity, he opened his mouth. The assassin’s dagger had a shape he had never seen before.

“Have you ever used a dagger like this? It’s for throwing.”

“What is it?”

“No.”

“No, Brother.”

He described the throwing knife without a handle. Rem, Ragna, and Audin spoke, and Big Eyes kept silent as usual, but Jaxon frowned and then relaxed.

“Where did you see it? That?”

“I didn’t see it, actually.”

He was about to see it now.

“Wasn’t there a round notch near the handle?”

Jaxon asked without sitting down, holding his coat in his hand to hang it up.

“Yeah.”

There was no need to search his memory. He had just been hit by that blade in today’s repeat. A round notch at the end, yes.

“Why do you ask?”

Rem asked as he got back into bed.

“Just heard about it somewhere.”

As Jaxon turned away, a blue-eyed black panther emerged from Enkrid’s bed. The panther that had snuggled up to him last night was just waking up. It loved the bed and sleep.

Shivering from the cold, it stretched its body front and back. Enkrid stroked the panther’s back from head to tail, and Jaxon’s voice came.

“Avoid it if you can. It’s a Whistling Dagger.”

“A Whistling Dagger?”

A name he had never heard before.

“It got its name from the sound it makes when thrown. It’s a weapon mainly used for assassination. Difficult to handle, but if you meet someone who can use it properly, well, run.”

Jaxon’s tone was as cold and kind as ever. Only the content was the problem.

Run away?

Wasn’t it just someone who can throw daggers?

Purr.

The panther purred happily from the stroking. When Big Eyes tried to pet it, the panther bared its fangs viciously.

“Oh, alright. I get it.”

It looked like it would bite if he got any closer. At first, Enkrid was worried about the panther harming the squad members, but soon he dismissed that concern. No matter how agile the panther was, it couldn’t handle Rem or the other squad members.

Only Big Eyes needed to be careful, but the panther seemed incredibly smart. After living with it for a few days, there were no problems. Enkrid petted the panther’s head gently and spoke.

“Don’t hate too much. I’ll be back from duty.”

Enkrid got up.

“Keep doing the bare-handed training. It will help, Brother.”

He didn’t specify how it would help, but it was obvious soon enough. What Enkrid was always absorbed in.

The sword.

It meant it would help with his swordsmanship.

“Not wrong,” Rem nodded. Ragna and Jaxon also nodded.

They all reacted earnestly when it came to Enkrid’s matters. It was quite a remarkable thing. These people showed little interest in most things. Enkrid left the barracks for duty.

He thought it was a repetition of the same events and relatively easy, but Jaxon’s words made him reconsider. His mind was in turmoil.

‘Avoid it? Run away?’

With my current skill?

Even if I fight head-on?

He should have asked that. No, he could find out from now on. The price would be his life and today.

But he would gain something in return. It wouldn’t be in vain. Despite having faced death countless times, Enkrid never wasted a single day. Even if there was a day sacrificed out of necessity.

In such situations, he always tried to gain something. That was the instinct given to him by the countless repeated days. That instinct whispered to him. The strange-looking half-elf assassin wouldn’t be easy to deal with.

“Hey, look! It’s the high-rank soldier, Sorcery Breaker!”

Just like Jack and Bon. They praised Enkrid, lightening the mood. If he hadn’t known about it, it would have been different. Knowing their intentions made them clear. Excessive praise to inflate his ego and loosen his guard.

‘When I see it like this, they are very meticulous.’

Was it necessary to do this for just a single soldier?

A perfectionist, perhaps?

While recalling the half-elf’s face and guessing his personality, he arrived at the market.

“So many people.”

Jack quipped from the side. Bon narrowed the gap on the other side.

“Yeah.”

I replied as I saw a guy in rags approaching. Suddenly, he spread his arms to the sides.

Smack!

Again, only Jack got hit while Bon dodged. Enkrid twisted his body boldly. His body had stiffened from the cold, but Audin’s exercises had helped. His body was less stiff than the first ‘today’.

With no time to draw his sword, he grabbed Bon by the collar, and Bon reflexively swung his fist. Enkrid, with the boldness of the Heart of the Beast, watched the trajectory of the fist until the end and predicted it, tilting his head to dodge.

Tick, and the fist brushed past his earlobe. Then it was Enkrid’s time. Gripping the collar, he twisted to choke Bon.

“Grrk!”

A groan escaped.

“Hup.”

Taking a short breath, Enkrid swung Bon as a human shield. Even though he was light, the weight of an armed adult male bore down on his arm. He twisted his waist, using centrifugal force to swing Bon around. Half-turning, pulling Bon forward, Enkrid saw the half-elf who had thrown off his rags.

At the moment their eyes met, the elf seemed to sneer.

Why in this situation?

I had just acquired a human shield. He should be panicking. The assassin’s plan had been anticipated and reacted to. The half-elf remained calm. With a sneer, he just waved his hand.

As the assassin’s dangling hand reached his chest, there was a flash of light. A bolt of lightning. Literally moving at a speed that couldn’t be seen, a dagger flew. The speed of the assassin’s hand reaching his chest and flicking forward matched the lightning speed of the dagger.

Before he could even block with Bon, the dagger flew and lodged in the vicinity of his heart.

Whistle!

The whistling sound reached his ears belatedly. With a thud, the pain followed, revealing the assassin’s action and the event that occurred. He had thrown a dagger, and it had lodged in his heart.

“Damn.”

His instincts were right. The opponent wasn’t easy. Just from the dagger-throwing skill alone, he was no ordinary person.

What if he prevented him from throwing the daggers?

Though a dagger was lodged in his body, the only thing people around noticed was Enkrid and the two soldiers fighting.

“Let go of me!”

Bon shouted, kicking Enkrid in the stomach. The strength drained from his hand. Enkrid released the collar, hit in the stomach, and a dagger lodged in his heart. If he were fine, that would be stranger. Blood gushed from his mouth.

As he kneeled and braced himself from falling, the half-elf, who had approached, asked.

“You anticipated it, didn’t you? Were their acting skills that bad?”

With screams and commotion around, the assassin didn’t care. For him, it seemed only he and Enkrid mattered right now.

“…Why?”

Saving his last breath, he asked. Despite the screams and chaos, the assassin clearly heard Enkrid’s words.

“Why do you ask? I’m curious. It seemed like you knew and reacted.”

Enkrid weakly nodded and, gathering his last strength, spoke.

“The acting was terrible. Even a passing dog would laugh.”

The elf nodded and spread his hands left and right.

Thwack.

With a close-range hand gesture, two daggers flew. Enkrid saw the tips of the daggers embedded in Jack and Bon’s foreheads. Two round notches, Whistling Daggers.

“Th-That.”

“Why, why.”

The two couldn’t finish their words and fell backward. The half-elf stopped after dealing with them.

Enkrid knew Rot was behind him, but Rot wouldn’t jump in such a situation. Apparently Rot was a nickname for Rottin.

He must be hiding somewhere. The half-elf didn’t kill Rot. Maybe he would chase him after this was over.

Either way, it wasn’t Enkrid’s concern.

“A tenacious lover doesn’t let go of its prey.”

At the assassin’s words, Enkrid nodded.

“Right.”

“Not surprised?”

“Should I be?”

“Well, usually people are.”

Sorry, but it’s already the third time. Instead of being surprised, Enkrid grabbed the dagger lodged in his chest and pulled it out.

Plop.

As the dagger, lodged in his heart, was pulled out, extreme pain surged. Blood gushed from the gaping wound. As Enkrid’s vision blurred, the assassin spoke.

“Interesting guy.”

Yeah? Is that so?

‘I’ll make it more interesting.’

Enkrid thought as he closed his eyes. With the darkness, the boatman appeared.

“Hehehe.”

He silently mocked him. He seemed to enjoy it thoroughly. Though his face and body weren’t visible, the boatman’s feeling conveyed clearly. The boatman’s ridicule was short-lived. After the darkness, a new morning dawned again.

“Good morning.”

Enkrid, who had suddenly woken up, grabbed Audin and quickly learned the exercises. Then, as soon as he saw Jaxon, he grabbed his sleeve and dragged him outside.

Jaxon, about to push away the one grabbing his sleeve, stopped when he saw it was the Squad Leader.

“Eh? Where are we going?”

Rem asked from behind.

“Got something to ask.”

Equivalent Exchange Jaxon surprisingly knew a lot. General information was Big Eyes’ forte, but for more critical information, Jaxon was the go-to. He earned the nickname Equivalent Exchange Jaxon for also being an informant. He gave what the other wanted, but the other had to give what he wanted in return.

“Whistling Dagger, you know it?”

Jaxon frowned.

“Where did you hear about that?”

Observing Jaxon’s reaction, Enkrid judged that the Whistling Dagger wasn’t an ordinary item.

“Tell me. About Whistling Dagger.”

“Is this a deal?”

Now he wasn’t the Squad Member but Equivalent Exchange Jaxon.

“Yes.”

The price didn’t matter. The conversation would disappear when the day repeated. Even if tomorrow came, he could repay it then. However, realizing he couldn’t overcome this wall on just the fourth ‘today,’ he sensed this conversation wouldn’t be forgotten.

A wall was a wall. It was not easy to overcome.

The boatman’s mocking seemed to transform into words, echoing in his mind.