The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 300

Scott was a mercenary. Being a mercenary meant having many tough experiences.

As a mercenary, Scott had moved from one battlefield to another. He had been a spy and often traveled through mountains day and night just to stay alive.

So, he was sure of his physical strength.

Even though he wasn’t a great swordsman, his years as a mercenary showed he was strong and tough.

And yet.

After only half a day, Scott was already feeling his limits.

‘…This is dangerous.’

He was breathless.

His mouth felt like sandpaper, each breath scratching his throat. Drinking water and sugary drinks wasn’t enough to stop the dizziness that was starting.

The 40kg military pack felt like it was filled with stones, each step digging deeper into his shoulders.

Roman Dmitry seemed to have endless energy. He walked ahead, checking the winding mountain paths. The uphill walk was pushing Scott to his limit.

“Hoo, hoo.”

Falling behind.

He constantly debated with himself.

The thought that it would be truly comfortable to just collapse here made Scott swallow down the rising nausea.

Just then.

Plop.

Someone collapsed right in front of him.

Those from similar backgrounds as Scott were at least somewhat physically fit, but among those who passed the soldier test, many were from ordinary backgrounds.

For them, just wanting to keep going wasn’t enough. Finally, they couldn’t take it anymore and fell to the ground. Scott watched them with worry. *Will Roman Dmitry be angry? Will he punish us for failing? Or will he just leave us behind?* he wondered.

“I’ll carry him on my back.”

“Hunt, you take his pack.”

“Understood.”

It was an unbelievable sight.

It was like they were ready for it. One of the older soldiers took the fallen man’s backpack. Another quickly checked if he was okay, then put the backpack over his shoulder and carried the man on his back.

Then, they kept walking.

Less than a minute had passed since the man had collapsed, yet they quickly rejoined the formation, wearing expressions as if nothing had happened.

They were crazy.

Scott was almost dying just trying to do his part, yet even after taking on the burden of a fallen comrade, the older soldiers’ expressions remained unchanged.

What on earth had they experienced?

The older soldiers, who must have been normal people like him before, had changed under Roman Dmitry. They were no longer just ‘normal’.

He endured.

He gritted his teeth.

Watching the back of the older soldier carrying the injured man, he thought that he couldn’t collapse here.

However, as the training progressed.

Scott was forced to admit that willpower alone couldn’t solve every problem.

Just one day.

He was completely exhausted.

The training continued even after the march, and at the word that the training was finally over, the new recruits collapsed on the spot.

Everyone was panting.

Their faces were pale from the extreme physical exertion, and some were face down on the ground, continuously vomiting.

Scott was no exception. He had been through tough times before, but now he lay on the ground, completely exhausted. His face was pale, like he was almost dead.

It was hell.

The thought that this was only the first day at Dmitry sent shivers down his spine.

Just then.

Next to him, he heard a fellow recruit’s disgruntled voice.

“This… this isn’t training! This is just… killing us! Torture! Training is supposed to improve physical fitness, but training that forces people to drag along those who have collapsed only harms people’s bodies. If this kind of training continues, we seriously need to say that this is wrong.”

Some of the recruits nodded in agreement.

Physical training should be in steps. But this very hard training, without any steps, was confusing.

Frankly speaking.

People like Scott would have quit if it weren’t for their mission as spies.

“If that’s what you’re thinking, just quit.”

Had someone read their minds?

A man with a relatively calm expression spoke curtly.

Upon closer inspection, unlike the other new recruits, he was someone who had been a Dmitry soldier and then transferred to the private soldiers.

The recruit who complained got angry.

“What?! What did you just say?”

“I said, if you’re going to whine, quit.”

The man’s name was Randolph.

Randolph looked at the recruit and smirked.

“Why do you think we’re doing this training? Just to show off our physical superiority? Or, as you said, to torture us? You pathetic bastards. This is Dmitry’s daily life. Roman Dmitry’s private soldiers endure this hellish training every time, and their very hard training gave them the strength to win the battles you’ve heard about since coming to Dmitry.”

Within Dmitry, the private soldiers were an exception.

When they watched the way they trained, the Dmitry soldiers had no choice but to acknowledge the existence of the private soldiers.

“You’ve probably heard the rumors. Many people from Dmitry died in the attack by Chronos. Among them was a guy named ‘Henderson,’ who was my close friend. I, and the people of Dmitry, don’t want that kind of thing to happen again. To do that, the only way is for us to become stronger.”

The death of Henderson and others left people with a lump in their chests.

Roman Dmitry had treated the casualties well enough, but the lives of those who remembered Henderson could not help but change.

Randolph had applied to be a private soldier with that in mind.

He didn’t just want the good things about being a private soldier. He wanted to become stronger to stop people like Henderson from dying again.

Therefore, he gritted his teeth.

When people like Scott were staggering as if they were about to collapse at any moment, Randolph supported their packs from behind and told them to hang in there.

It wasn’t because he had greater physical strength than Scott.

From the start, he had eliminated the option of dropping out from his mind, so even with a face that looked like he was about to die, he was able to complete the training to the end.

“The older soldiers didn’t abandon us in the training that you thought was hell. They carried those who collapsed on their backs, and carried their packs for them. That’s how we finished this training. It’s no different on the battlefield. The moment you become a member of Dmitry, the senior soldiers will do anything to save us, even on a battlefield filled with death. We have become comrades of such people, and in order not to become a burden on the battlefield, don’t complain about this kind of physical training. If you simply wanted good benefits, you’re greatly mistaken. Dmitry is not the utopia you think it is.”

He finished speaking.

Scott was speechless at the sight of Randolph turning his head and catching his breath.

That was true for others as well.

The words about being comrades who never give up on each other touched them deeply.

It was only now that they were starting to feel it little by little.

In Dmitry, what it meant to live as a private soldier of Roman Dmitry.

Ten days had passed.

There were no dropouts.

Some people endured to the end due to their strong desire for Dmitry, but in the case of the spies who had hidden their identities, they could not give up until their martial arts were confirmed.

Chris stood in front of the new soldiers. “It’s time for the next part of your training,” he announced.

Chris gathered the new soldiers for the next part of their training, called ‘Mind Training.’ He began by explaining the idea of the Dantian.

The soldiers listened very carefully. They were eager to learn.

Chris explained that martial arts were at the heart of this new Sword Art Revolution.

These soldiers didn’t know it yet, but learning from Dimitri was a very important chance for their future.

Once Chris explained it, the Dantian seemed like a simple idea. But before, it was something they had never even thought of.

“From now on, the martial art you will learn is called Asura Mind Training.”

The soldiers shifted uncomfortably in the cross-legged position. It was hard to sit like this for so long, but they tried their best to follow Chris’s instructions for the Asura Mind Training.

Chris continued the explanation about Asura Mind Training.

Chris’s voice gradually faded. Scott tried to feel the mana as explained in the Asura Mind Training.

‘I can’t feel the mana.’

The basic part of Mind Training is being able to feel things. You had to feel the mana to take the next step. But no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t feel the energy of mana that Chris had described.

Scott had always wanted to be an Aura Swordsman. As a mercenary, he had tried everything to learn it. But he just didn’t have the talent. It seemed impossible for him.

So, when he turned thirty, Scott gave up on becoming an Aura Swordsman. He thought it was better to focus on things he *could* do.

In the end, he accepted what he could and couldn’t do.

He thought that this Asura Mind Training, which might be a great chance for others, wouldn’t help him.

An hour passed. Then two. Then three. Scott kept focusing on the Mind Training, even though he felt nothing.

Suddenly, after all this time, Scott felt something strange.

‘…Could it be.’

Sometimes he felt a warmth, then a coldness. It was a strange energy, tickling his skin. Scott stopped the Mind Training, opened his eyes wide, and looked at his Dantian.

“D-Did I just feel mana?” Scott whispered, his eyes wide. Yes! He was sure of it. It felt like a miracle.

His heart was pounding.

The more he learned the Asura Mind Training, the more Scott couldn’t believe how well it worked.

‘No way.’

Scott’s whole life had been spent on battlefields.

Scott thought that Aura was needed to survive. He paid a lot of money to learn from Aura Swordsmen who were famous in the Chronos Empire.

But it didn’t work. Even when a great person taught him, even when they told him great techniques, he couldn’t feel anything.

Scott complained, saying it was a scam. But people said that Aura Swordsmen were special because ‘not just anyone’ could awaken.

He couldn’t say anything. He was told he didn’t have the talent, so what could he do?

So, he gave up.

He thought that awakening Aura was impossible. But the feeling of mana touching his skin made him very happy.

‘Alexandr’s time is over. If even someone like me can feel mana in just a few hours, then in the future, people will call Roman Dimitri the founder of Aura. Asura Mind Training. If I give this to the Chronos Empire, I’m guaranteed to be rich and famous. Chronos will see that I did my job well enough.’

He had reached his goal.

Now, he just had to share the information. If he told them how to do the Asura Mind Training through the magic device he had prepared, his family would be safe.

But he was confused.

Dimitri seemed to value his soldiers. And he had taught them this amazing Mind Training so openly, even knowing there might be a spy. It was shocking.

If he could create such a great technique, was Dimitri going to become more powerful than the Chronos Empire?

In history, there had always been big changes where the system of power was overturned. Was he now in the middle of one?

His heart pounded. He knew he had to make a choice. His family’s safety, his own future – it all depended on what he did next.

Just then, the training ended.

Chris finished the first day of Mind Training and spoke about the future as the training supervisor.

“For now, we will train using the basic Asura Mind Training. If anyone improves quickly or gets good results, they will be taught new martial arts that fit them.”

New martial arts. This was confusing to them.

They already thought the Asura Mind Training was great. The fact that there was a next step was hard to believe.

One person asked.

“…New martial arts? Does that mean there are martial arts better than this?”

Chris smiled.

Dimitri’s soldiers had learned the Asura Mind Training, but people like Chris and Kevin had been given other martial arts.

The same was true for the other soldiers. At first, the Asura Mind Training was enough. But after the war with the Chronos Empire, he thought they needed a new chance to move on to the ‘next stage.’

Chris said.

“That’s not quite right. The Asura Mind Training is not a great martial art to begin with. Dimitri has already created a system of martial arts. The Asura Mind Training is just a basic martial art for teaching beginners.”

People were shocked.

Whether it was true or not, no one could believe what he just said.

After the war ended, Roman Dimitri introduced the system of the Demonic Cult. He had shared the idea of the Dantian with everyone, so Dimitri thought he needed to give special rewards to some people.

Chris’s words were correct.

Asura Mind Training was just a very basic skill, for beginners.

The spies who were unsure about Dimitri and Chronos now had a big decision to make.