I Became A Side Character Fated To Suffer-Chapter 56: Suffering

When the cadets first heard Austin’s order, they didn’t even react properly. They just stood there, staring at him like he had finally lost the last bit of sanity he never had in the first place.

Jump rope? That was the order? Not sword drills, not aura training, not combat but jump rope. It sounded like a joke, a bad one at that, and the aspiring knights, especially those from noble families, looked visibly offended. Some even thought this was a test of patience rather than strength.

But then they saw the ropes.

"...What the hell is that?"

"That’s not a rope."

"That’s a weapon."

The so-called jump ropes were made of thick, intertwined metal, faintly glinting under the sunlight. They weren’t just heavy,they looked dangerous. The red markings along the surface made them even more ominous, like they were warning signs rather than decorations.

Naturally, the cadets thought it might be some kind of illusion or trick.

Until they picked them up.

Snap!

"...My wrist—!"

The sheer weight dragged their arms down instantly. Some nearly lost their grip, others felt their joints scream in protest. It wasn’t just heavy it was absurd. The handles alone felt like iron blocks, and the rope itself might as well have been forged for execution rather than exercise.

Were they really supposed to jump with this?

It was insane.

But before the complaints could grow louder—

Swish! Swish!

"This is fun!"

Sunta.

Like an absolute madman, he started jumping.

Effortlessly.

Smoothly.

As if he was holding a normal rope.

"...He’s not human."

"...He’s enjoying it..."

"...Why is he smiling?"

Seeing him, some cadets hesitated, thinking maybe it wasn’t as bad as it looked.

They were wrong.

"I can’t lift it!"

"How do you even spin this thing?!"

"My arm—my arm—!"

Groans filled the field as cadets struggled just to move the rope, let alone jump. Those with aura techniques tried to channel their energy, forcing their bodies to comply, barely managing to swing it once or twice.

What they thought was a child’s game had instantly turned into a survival test.

Swish—THUD!

"AAAGH—!"

One cadet got smacked across the shoulder and dropped instantly.

Another—

CRACK!

"MY BACK—!"

And another—

THWACK!

"I SAW MY ANCESTORS—!"

One by one, cadets started collapsing, some unconscious, some barely conscious, others just lying there questioning their life choices.

And in the middle of it—

Eleanor.

"...I can do this..."

She stepped forward, stubborn as ever, refusing to be outdone by something as stupid as a rope.

"I am NOT losing to this."

She grabbed it.

Paused.

"...Why is it so heavy..."

Her hand trembled.

"...No, I refuse..."

She pulled.

Nothing.

She pulled harder.

Veins popped.

Her face turned red.

"COME UP—!"

The rope didn’t even budge.

Silence.

Then—

THUD!

She collapsed face-first onto the ground.

Completely motionless.

"...Did she just faint?"

"...She died."

"No she blinked."

"Oh...Then she is alive."

Meanwhile....

Swish. Swish. Swish.

Elderic moved with calm precision, each jump perfectly timed, expression unchanged.

Noel stood beside him, equally composed, his movements efficient, clean, almost effortless. Neither of them looked strained. Neither of them complained.

They just... kept going.

"...Of course it’s them..."

"...Naturally..."

"...I hate talent..."

Then—

However, it can’t be said the same for Reed, who seemed to pass away.

Noel looked at him and burnt an incense for him in his heart.

Swish, swish, swish.

"Why are you all struggling like dying pigs?"

Austin.

He spun the metal rope like it weighed nothing, movements loose, lazy, completely unserious.

Then...

THWACK!

The rope smacked straight into his own head.

"...Oh."

He paused.

"...That was a mistake."

The cadets froze.

"...Is he okay?"

"...He’s not bleeding..."

"...Why is he fine?!"

Austin scratched his head like nothing happened.

"Anyway."

"...ANYWAY?!"

He glanced at them, unimpressed.

"You’re all weak."

"...We’re dying."

"Skill issue."

"...I hate him..."

Austin stretched, then casually spoke, as if explaining something obvious.

"The ropes are different. 3kg,5kg and 10 kg."

Silence.

"...Ten?"

"TEN?!"

Those holding red ropes slowly turned pale.

"...I want to go home..."

Austin ignored them completely.

"I saw your fights. Trash."

"...Straight to the point..."

"No build-up, nothing..."

"You all talk about becoming knights, but your basics are garbage. Garbage with decoration."

The cadets clenched their teeth.

Some glared.

Some burned with humiliation.

But no one spoke.

"Look at yourselves," Austin continued, grinning like a complete menace. "You rely on aura like it’s your mother. Take it away and you’re just... decorative sticks."

"...That hurt."

"It was supposed to."

He pointed lazily.

"Sunta, Elderic, Noel."

They didn’t hesitate.

Swish. Swish. Swish.

Three different styles.

Sunta was wild, powerful, and almost playful while Elderic was precise, disciplined.

Noel was efficient, controlled, perfect.

Ten jumps.

Twenty.

Fifty.

A hundred.

Not a single mistake.

Not a single complaint.

Compared to them—

The rest couldn’t even survive five.

"...We’re not the same species..."

"...I refuse to accept this..."

Then—

Tap!

"Ugh... that hurt..."

"Stop whining," Austin said casually. "You’re not dead."

"Pain is pain."

"I’ll buy you food later."

"...You’re forgiven."

"...That worked?!"

Austin looked back at the rest.

"See that?"

"...No."

"That’s because you’re blind."

"...I’m going to cry."

"Do it while jumping."

"I CAN’T EVEN STAND—!"

Austin yawned.

"The point is simple. They built their bodies. You didn’t."

Silence.

"You train aura. Cool. But your body? Garbage. Paper. Wet paper."Austin shook his head.

"...Why wet..."

"Because you’re also pathetic."

"...I’m filing a complaint..."one of them complained.

"With who?"

"...Good point..."

Austin cracked his neck.

"What you need isn’t fancy sword skills. It’s strength. Stamina. Endurance."

"...So... we start from zero?"

"We are going from below zero."Austin clicked his tongue

"...I’m going to faint."

"You’re already halfway there."

Seeing this, Noel laughed wildly. "You called me trash, but it seems you all aren’t better than this so-called trash.."

"Stupids..."

The field was filled with groans, cries, and the occasional sound of someone getting absolutely destroyed by their own rope.

And in the middle of it all,Eleanor.

Still lying face-down.

"...water..."

Barely alive.

Austin glanced once.

"...Still breathing. Good enough."

"...THAT’S YOUR STANDARD?!"

And just like that the training continued.

Brutal.

Chaotic.

Absolutely unhinged.

And at the center of it all Austin, the completely cracked instructor, was enjoying every single second of it.

Just as the few remaining cadets stood there with flushed faces and lowered gazes, their embarrassment still hanging thick in the air, Austin moved.

Tap—

With an almost careless motion, he flicked the rope resting in Noel’s hands, and although the action looked light, almost lazy, the effect it caused was anything but.

For a fraction of a second, the rhythm broke.

That was all it took.

The rope twisted mid-air like a living thing that had suddenly been provoked, and in the next instant it snapped sideways with terrifying precision before—

Smack!

The crack echoed across the training ground, sharp and violent, as the rope lashed directly across Sunta’s back with enough force to make several cadets flinch instinctively, while one girl even let out a startled yelp as if she had been struck instead.

That sound didn’t belong in training.

It belonged on a battlefield.

And yet—

"Ugh... Instructor, that hurt..." Sunta muttered as he winced and rubbed his back, his face scrunching up in annoyance rather than actual pain, as if what he had received was nothing more than a harsh slap instead of something that should have knocked the breath out of him.

Austin didn’t even blink, and his expression remained as indifferent as ever as he replied, "Stop whining, because you’re still standing, aren’t you?"

"Pain is pain," Sunta shot back, clearly dissatisfied.

"Then feel it quietly," Austin answered without missing a beat, his tone as dry as ever.

"...That’s unreasonable."

"Fine, then I’ll buy you meat later."

The shift was immediate, and Sunta’s entire demeanor changed as his eyes lit up and his posture straightened as if he had just been granted a blessing.

"Instructor... you’re a great man."

"...Shameless," Austin muttered, although there was a faint trace of amusement in his voice.

Despite the clean and brutal strike, Sunta stood there completely fine aside from the bright red mark spreading across his back, and that alone was enough to make the cadets stare in disbelief as their minds struggled to process what they had just witnessed.

That hit should have dropped him.

At the very least, it should have left him gasping.

And yet he stood there like it barely mattered.

Naturally, thoughts began to surface.

Could it be some kind of bloodline—

"Anyone thinking ’Is this some barbarian bloodline nonsense’ should go ahead and dig their eyes out," Austin said flatly as his gaze swept across them like a blade, cutting through their thoughts before they could even fully form, "and especially those of you who have already learned aura, because if you still can’t see what’s happening, then you’re beyond saving."

Silence fell instantly, heavy and suffocating, because more than a few of them had been thinking exactly that.

Austin scoffed, clearly unimpressed.

"I’ve never formally studied aura techniques, but even I understand the basics, because aura is nothing more than a tool used to draw out your body’s potential, and that potential comes from training, from effort, and from suffering."

"...Correct."