That night, Kangnam stayed at a basement of a castle. He guessed he was still in a castle, though he couldn't tell. It was dark, and humid, and mud lined the cold stone floor. An occasional squeak sounded from the cracks of the wall, and he felt some fur scuttle around his ankle. He instantly backed away, only to trip on another rat. He fell down with a quite painful thud, and he winced.

"Agh." Kangnam groaned, feeling his spine ache. He rubbed the spot, and felt a bruise beginning to swell.


A foot tapped the ground in distaste.

"Get up." The man from the casino instructed coldly. "A little tickle and you're already down like a worm. You are disgracing my reputation as a ninja trainer. You now officially owe me twenty more silver."

"What?" Kangnam shrieked. "A hundred silver is already hard enough to pay!"

"This is the rule of my borrowing money to you. Take it or leave it." He shrugged.

Kangnam ground his teeth in frustration. How could he have agreed to borrowing money?

"Now, kill every rat in this room with your bare hands." The man instructed. Kangnam wrinkled his brow in disgust. He scoffed in disbelief. "Oh, and the time limit is one hour. If all the rats are not gone by one hour, I will add thirty more silver into the sum." He placed an hourglass onto the floor.

"You are evil." Kangnam muttered, earning a slap.

He smiled coldly. "Evil but effective. Now, get those 14 rats in this room in one hour, no, there are 58 minutes left."

Kangnam felt around this room for rodents. His hands caught one, and he trembled. He had never killed anything before, and he thought about ways to kill it. Finally, he settled to snap its spine. He felt around the slick fur, feeling it wriggle in his hands. He disgustedly threw it away, and he wanted to wash his hands clean of the filth, but he knew the man'd beat him again. He glanced at the hourglass. 32 minutes left.

He once again curled his slender fingers around the rat. Its skin felt icky and muddy, but eventually he found its backbone underneath its body. He bit his lip, and with a gut wrenching crack, he managed to kill it. He felt remorseful, and he found a bit of dirt and buried it. At least he thought he buried it, since the limbs of the lifeless corpse still poked out from beneath the patch of earth. But he felt better anyways. At least the rat would not haunt him ever again.

Just as he stood up to search the floor for another rat, the last grain of sand fell from the hourglass, and the man walked back in. He stared at the grave in disgust, and then he raised his boot and mashed the corpse into a smudge. He turned his head to look at Kangnam, who had kneeled onto the floor. He slapped him, but still Kangnam kneeled.

Kangnam's eyes were determined.

"Please." Kangnam said. "Just give me half an hour. I'll get the job done, I promise."

Then there was silence.

"Hm." The man thought for a moment. "I refuse. 15 minutes. 13 rats. You had better get the job done."

"No problem." Kangnam replied. He steeled his mind, clearing it of any other doubts.

Once the man left, he immediately dropped to the ground, feeling around with both of his hands, and oh joy, he found one. He grasped it by its tail, and flung it to the ground. He wasn't about to complain or bry the corpse, because he knew time passed quickly. He grabbed another rat and cracked its skull between his fingers. He rubbed the grime from his fingernails, grimaced at the brain fluid stuck onto his skin, and continued working.

One rat he smacked dead with his palm. Once, he grabbed tworats, which he clapped together. It seemed like a killing spree, since his eyes were growing puffy and bloodshot. Even though all he was killing was a rat, he radiated an aura which reeked of death and bloodlust. It was a major change in his life.

In the end, his hands were soaked with stains of his work. He even had a rat's tail on his skin. He brushed it off.

And so 15 minutes later, the man found the 13 corpses assembled before the doorframe. Kangnam was still kneeling in that position.

"Good. Very well done." The man acknowledged. He tossed a bundle of clothing to Kangnam, who caught it neatly. "Your training starts at dawn, exactly three hours later. You may come early to the square, but do not ever be late. Your sword will be given to you then."

"I am in a basement." Kangnam pointed out. "How am I supposed to know whether it's dawn?"

"That's up to you." The man replied, then paused. "I haven't told you my name, have I?"

Kangnam shook his head.

The man smiled for the first time since arriving this castle. "I'm Yook Sungjae."

"But that's a Korean name!" Kangnam exclaimed.

"It's a long story." Sungjae muttered.

"Yes, sensei." Kangnam used the Japanese term. From the moment he was forced to exterminate rodents - however ridiculous this may seem - he was deeply attracted to the Ninja arts. It seemed like a new thing to believe in. It seemed like a new subject to rely on.

"Hmm. It seems like there's a long way to go until you're even permitted to call me that. And remember to appear at the square before dawn, which is 2 hours and 47 minutes later." Sungjae reminded him.

The door slammed shut, and Kangnam hurriedly started counting the minutes. Then he smacked his head and turned the hourglass upside down. Humans should learn to use the tools provided.

He looked at the dark clothing. He quickly changed, and admired the silk-like texture. It was perfect in every way: flexible, light, hard to break, you name it. It barely constricted his movements, and he was really happy for obtaining such excellent material. Japan was absolutely amazing.


Oh, apart from the fact that he has to learn to be a ninja in order to return money. That . Of course, he had no one to blame except himself.