Nano Machine Chapter 25: Remember, This Is All Of Your Own Making (B)

"Doctor Baek?"

Although he sensed no one in the dispensary, he called out just in case, anyway. Baek Jong Myeong had gone out for lunch. After confirming no one was around, Cheon Yeo Woon walked to the middle of the room and got into the Jeopmoo Dobeop ready stance. Although he didn't have a sword on him, he opened his palm and made his fingers and thumb straight to simulate one.

Chwa chwa chwa chwak!

He cut through the air with his makeshift sword at lightning speed. He skipped in a graceful and fast motion around while swinging and thrusting his arms. He looked like a perfect doppelganger of his teacher.

"Awesome!"

As he continued to showcase the first form of Jeopmoo Dobeop, he stopped in his tracks when he heard someone walking down the hallway.

-Oh!-

Thinking about it, his senses had also become keen. Along with the physical changes in his body, there was a corresponding increase in his perceptual awareness.As Cheon Yeo Woon looked down at his hands, mumbling something to himself with a look of satisfaction on his face, Doctor Baek Jong swung the dispensary door open and came in.

"Now, I'm ready."

"What? Ready for what? When did you get up?"

Oblivious to what Cheon Yeo Woon meant, Baek Jong Myeong asked what he was talking about. Feeling embarrassed, the awkward Cheon Yeo Woon answered the doctor as he scratched his head.

"I meant….. I'm ready to be discharged."

Baek Jong Myeong, who just came back from lunch gave Cheon Yeo Woon a clean bill of health upon performing one last pulse diagnosis on him. He then gave the consent to discharge him. The doctor then looked at Cheon Yeo Woon who was wearing a greenish blue uniform and a black badge that had the number "seven" engraved on it and expressed the slight glumness he felt.

"Sigh… this place is already too empty. Who will keep me company once you're gone?"

Unlike what he had expected before being assigned as the academy's Chief Physician, the dispensary was as empty as a bird's nest.

"It'll fill up soon."

Although Cheon Yeo Woon said it in a more or less glib manner to comfort him, the thought of more patients filling up the dispensary made the optimistic Baek Jong Myeong stroke his chin asked.

"Right? Don't you think so too? No, no, it's probably a good thing I'm not getting a lot of patients."

"I owe you a lot, Doctor Baek."

"Hey, don't sweat it. I'm sure it won't be easy, but I wish you the best out there."

If it weren't for the doctor's mercy in turning a blind eye to Seop Maeng's two-week tutelage, he would have spent an uncomfortable time in the dispensary. He was very grateful to Doctor Baek who cared for him as though he was a treasured companion, and after their time together, there is no doubt their friendship elevated to surpass the stars. As a way of paying him back for his goodness, Cheon Yeo Woon determined to send a lot of cadets to the dispensary as injured patients.

After lunch, the cadets were all gathered in their respective groups on the main training field to begin battle formation training.

*Chit-chat, chit-chat.*

All the cadets in Group Eight turned their gazes to the man walking towards their direction. At last, Cadet Number Seven, Cheon Yeo Woon, hospitalized in the academy dispensary for fourteen days made his comeback.

"You're finally here. Kekekeke." A sinister grin marked Buk Ma clan's Grand Prince candidate, Cheon Moo Geum's face. His long-awaited buddy has now arrived.

The training instructor, Im Pyeong, who was holding a multi-colored flag noticed him on the field and made his way towards him.

"Hey, you're here."

"Yes, sir."

"Are you all clear to join us now?"

"I'm clear, sir."

"That's a relief. I know I sort of lectured you on the formations and everything, but do you remember where your spot is?"

Although he expressed relief, Im Pyeong's brusque words betrayed his inner uncertainty.

Even after assigning him in the formation that required the least activity and the smallest role, Im Pyeong knew the nature of battle formations entailed a great risk of injury even at the slightest mistake.

"Yes, I do."

"Good! Then carry this and make your way over there."

Im Pyeong directed Cheon Yeo Woon to his position in the formation.

Knowing he was way behind in the training for his stay in the dispensary, Cheon Yeo Woon ran over to his spot as he took out the sword and shield on his equipment.

Luckily for Im Pyeong, it was the seventh day of formation training which meant they were using real swords instead of wooden ones. As Cheon Yeo Woon ran by him, Cheon Moo Geum who was in the formation's forefront line tried to give him an invidious warning.

"Were you so delayed because you were crapping your pants in fear, you dirty little…"

*Hwik!*

Even before Cheon Moo Geum could finish his sentence, Cheon Yeo Woon whizzed by him with blatant disregard. Thrown off by his antics, Cheon Moo Geum stood there with a befuddled look on his face. What perplexed him most was the way Cheon Yeo Woon looked at him while dashing by. There was a complete absence of fear.

-What the…? The look on his face…-

Instead, there was a glare in Cheon Yeo Woon's eyes screaming the words, "Take. Me. On!"

"Okay, let's begin our training! This time make sure you keep a good distance from the cadet in front, the back, and around you! If there is another accident like last time, I will use my authority as the training instructor to have you expelled from the academy!"

"Fighting Ma!"

With that, the training began.

Training instructor, Im Pyeong's gaze was fixed on one individual standing in the formation over the entire group. The other cadets have been training for fourteen days, which gave them enough time to ease into the nitty-gritty of battle formations. However, that wasn't the case for Cheon Yeo Woon. Since he was in the dispensary the whole time, unable to run the drills, he was bound for him to make mistakes.

The problem was today, of all days, was the day they used real swords as a final drill. Im Pyeong couldn't help to be on edge about Cheon Yeo Woon, especially after what happened a week ago when one cadet got stabbed in the back.

-Darn it! Why am I in charge of him?-

He had dice to blame for his woes since they only assigned Cheon Yeo Woon to his group through cleromancy, a simple process in which they would roll a dice to determine the fate of something or someone. On commencement day, when a cadet injured Cheon Yeo Woon during the first round of competitions, none of the training instructors would take him into their group, which led to his fate being decided with the roll of a die.

The axiom that 'whoever suggests it usually gets it' proved to be true in this case.

-Please don't screw up. Not that there's much to screw up in that corner position, anyway. Still… please!-

Thankfully, he placed Cheon Yeo Woon in a spot where his movements are scarce, unless he went out of his way to do so, his chances of causing a catastrophic blunder was slim.

Im Pyeong raised the red flag to signal the formation shift.

*Ta ta ta ta tak!*

The quick and synchronous steps of the cadets as they marched into the next formation was as crisp as toast. The person up in front, or the vanguard, managed the initial movement of the entire group, while the middle guard who was the group leader kept the whole formation in line.

"Very good!" An acclamation of approval burst forth from Im Pyeong's mouth.

In the first formation shift, there was not a single cadet that went off kilter. Contrary to his proud and cruel nature, as one of the Grand Prince candidates and the leader of Group Eight, Cheon Moo Geum played his part by making sure everyone was in line.

A bigger surprise was how Cheon Yeo Woon, whom Im Pyeong was most worried about followed through the formation well.

-Oh… kay?-

Almost all the cadets who enter Ma Fighting Academy have had a level of prior martial arts training through their clan's training school or private teachers. However, formation drills required one to cooperate and synchronize with other cadets whom they have never worked together with. As a result, the training instructors have a major headache for the first few days of formation training trying to coordinate the bumbling cadets. However, Cheon Yeo Woon had no problem syncing himself with the rest of the group.

-Is he just following whatever the other cadets are doing?-

Although he had a momentary confusion about Cheon Yeo Woon's uncanny aptitude, Im Pyeong assumed that he must have just mimicked the movement of the rest of the group.

The most basic element of formation training was having the rows and columns in line with each other. What cadets had the most difficult time with was executing this aspect of the drill, even more so than shifting between different formations.

"Stay in line! Don't move!"

After a formation is complete, it was imperative they maintain their position and stance while holding their sword and iron shield without moving a muscle. The ability to do so was not a matter of inner power, but of muscular strength.

Everyone was doing well, keeping as still as a mountain, but after about fifteen minutes things went downhill as the weakest cadets soon started having shaky arms.

*Dul dul dul! Chul kung!*

As a result, their shields rattled against the iron shield of the cadet next to them, making a loud clunking noise. When they trained with wooden shields, the sound wasn't too loud, but the rattling noise of iron against iron was another story.

"Get it together! Do you think you'll have any chances of beating the other groups during this round's competition like that?! Get your crap together!"