Episode 10

“We must attend classes diligently, right? Especially since most of you will be assigned to the front lines, tactical studies applicable in real combat are essential.”

At Jabein’s words, the cadets’ expressions and atmosphere instantly soured.

‘Just thinking about front-line assignment makes me dizzy.’

I might seriously consider deserting.

‘But not everyone will go, so there’s still a chance to avoid it.’

Thanks to the Magic Grenade bonus point, a thread of hope thankfully remains alive.

“I’ve chattered on a bit too long. Next is Naval Tactics. Since the Aditz Empire has an alliance with the maritime kingdom, the Osiris Kingdom, you’ll need to memorize this as well.”
A bizarre and horrific teaching method.
With every sentence he uttered, the test scope expanded insanely.

‘Stop it… you bastard.’

“We will now conduct a barracks inspection. Please check the grading sheet you were given.”
During the time all cadets were in class.
Instructors and assistant instructors gathered in the barracks, preparing a covert operation.

– Barracks Inspection Grading Sheet –

If there is trash on the desk. Entire room: 1-point demerit.

If bedding is not made. That cadet: 1-point demerit.

If clothing is not properly arranged. That cadet: 1-point demerit.

.
.

“If we follow these criteria, there probably won’t be a single room that passes.”
An assistant instructor spoke with a humane expression completely different from the one he wore in front of cadets.

“I suppose. The current cadets are truly at a hopeless level.”
Lieutenant Gavin, the discipline officer, shook his head with a disgusted expression.

“You could say it’s record-breaking.”
“That’s why we must use scores to differentiate and make them get their act together.”
“Understood.”
“Then let’s begin.”
After dividing the areas to grade, Lieutenant Gavin started touring the first floor.

“First, Room 1.”
The room closest to the main entrance.
The moment Lieutenant Gavin opened the door and entered, he frowned.

‘What on earth is this?’

Perhaps they left in a hurry; the desks were a mess and the beds weren’t made either.

“They’ve practically shed their skin. This looks like what they slept in.”
An assistant instructor who entered with him pointed at underwear thrown on a bed.

“Not a single thing passes the grading sheet… Not one. Sigh.”
Lieutenant Gavin’s two-year career as a training instructor.
He witnessed the worst barracks inspection out of hundreds, right from the first room.

“Let’s move to the next.”
The Lieutenant sighed and moved his steps to Room 2.

“Uh…”
The scene that greeted him upon opening the door this time was also shockingly chaotic.
Disorderly, messy beds; a toppled chair as if there’d been an explosion.
Lieutenant Gavin’s blood pressure skyrocketed the moment he confirmed the state.

“These people…”
Instructors and assistant instructors often force themselves to shout and get angry at cadets.
They themselves know the standards imposed on them are excessively harsh.
But this… was just too much, even humanly.

“Here too, it seems there’s nothing on the grading sheet we can skip without marking.”
“First, record everything. I thought I spoke sternly enough. They still haven’t come to their senses.”
The Lieutenant shook his head as he looked over the rooms.
As he went further back, perhaps because all expectations for the cadets had died, he kept sighing and moving on.

“Room 7. What kind of insane stunt will surprise me this time?”
The Lieutenant opened the door with an expression of disgust by now.
And so, Room 7 revealed itself.
Before even stepping in, the Lieutenant and the assistant instructor froze in great shock.

“Why… is it clean?”
Whether there was dust or not, the floor was free of trash.
The desk only had normal items like writing utensils.
Clothes hanging on hangers.
Even just last batch, these were naturally upheld, but for the two who had seen six shocking rooms, this was a miracle.

“Sir, this cadet… even made his bed before leaving.”
Under normal circumstances, the two would have inspected with hawk eyes for any speck of dust, but they were already satisfied.
Especially the assistant instructor, upon seeing the made bed, reacted as if he’d discovered some new civilization.

“Huh, who owns that bed?”
“It’s… Palan Oklo?”
“Palan? Where have I heard that… Ah, the friend Captain Edental mentioned.”
Before the barracks inspection, the Lieutenant had a meal with instructors including Captain Edental.
There, stories naturally came up about the accident during the Magic Grenade practical.
Captain Edental couldn’t possibly skip telling the heroic tale of Palan, who nearly prevented a major accident.

“Is there some problem with him?”
“Not a problem, but a cadet highly praised by Captain Edental. I can’t go into detail, but I heard he prevented an accident that almost happened during training.”
“A cadet did that…?”
The assistant instructor tilted his head as if he didn’t understand, but the Lieutenant didn’t elaborate further.
Accidents in the military must be covered up first.

‘The angle isn’t perfect, but this should be enough.’

If it were last batch, even if not a demerit, they would have at least given a warning to make the bed properly.
But this batch is, colloquially speaking, a trash-tier batch.
Just making the bed can be considered a heroic act.

“How many points was the ‘Barracks Life Excellence Cadet’ bonus again?”
“Two points, sir.”
“Give it to this cadet. We haven’t seen all yet, but this room seems the cleanest.”
As the Lieutenant predicted, from Room 8 onward, hell unfolded again.
And so, Room 7 was selected as the Excellence Room in the first barracks inspection, and Palan as the Excellence Cadet.

“He seems the most useful so far. We need to keep an eye on him.”
“I will inform the other assistant instructors as well.”

“Sigh, I’m tired.”
I don’t even know how time passed.
Running, doing push-ups, running, eating, sleeping.
A life with no personal time, always waiting only for the moment to lie on the bed, and when you close your eyes, morning arrives immediately.
Unknowingly, this hell too has already reached Friday, the last weekday.

‘They’ll give us the weekend off, so let’s just endure today.’

You might call it a vain hope, but the Empire, whatever else, definitely gives weekends off.

-All trainees, assemble in the small parade ground in full uniform with swords. That is all. End of transmission.

Thud thud thud thud.
Already five days since entering the training unit.
Like Pavlov’s dogs, the cadets ran out of their rooms and sprinted down the hallway.
Of course, I too, before anyone could say anything, grabbed my sword, dashed out of the room, and secured a spot in the front row of the formation.
What’s good about this?

‘At least it’s safe.’

It’s action to avoid demerits, not to get bonus points.

“Who dropped their sword on the ground! Cadet, even if that were your own heart, would you handle it like that?!”

“S…Sorry, sir!”
“Down for push-ups!”
A cadet who rushed out without properly securing his scabbard at his waist dropped his sword.

‘Poor friend.’

Anyone can drop a sword; why make such a big fuss.

“On ‘one’: the sword is. On ‘two’: your second heart. One!”

“The sword is!”
“Voice louder! Two!”
“Your second heart!!”
“One!”
.
.
Harsh punishment.
It’s a disgusting, inhuman sight, but perhaps because I’ve seen it too often.
I’ve reached a point where it doesn’t evoke any thought.

‘I’m scared of myself. I need to escape quickly.’

Thank goodness it’s only two weeks.

“Cadets, did you have a hearty breakfast?”
“Yes, sir!!!!”
The cadets answered the instructor’s question from the podium with voices full of military discipline.

‘Now the young masters have acquired a soldierly appearance too.’

Even their replies are unified; it’s truly remarkable progress.

“Today, running was scheduled, but due to schedule constraints, we will conduct Individual Combat Training.”

‘Fuck, what did you say?’
Individual Combat.
If asked to pick the three toughest training in the military, this is definitely one of them.

“Awesome, no running.”
“Today’s our lucky day.”
Cadets who don’t know what Individual Combat Training is celebrated quietly.

‘You idiots, now’s the time to cry.’

I’m the only one taking this seriously.

“Individual Combat Training develops abilities absolutely necessary in real combat, and I will conduct it. If you fall behind midway, you will receive strong disciplinary education and a 3-point demerit, so apply yourselves until the end! Understood?!”

“Understood, sir!!!!”
At the mention of demerits, Ion’s expression brightened.

‘He’s obsessed with points.’

It’s a scary level of obsession. To give an idea, he reduced his sleep from the already meager four hours to just two hours, and was the only one to get a perfect score on the Tactics exam.

‘Thanks to him, I’m motivated to work hard too, which is good. But sometimes it’s excessive.’

It’s a miracle he hasn’t collapsed yet.

“I hope you cadets never give up. 1st Company, 1st Platoon, forward to the grand parade ground!”

At the starting signal, 1st Company, 1st Platoon began moving in step.

‘If I said they were noble young masters with distinct personalities just a week ago, who would believe it?’

The saying ‘humans are creatures of adaptation’ exists for a reason.

“Cadet, standard.”
Upon arriving at the grand parade ground, the instructor pointed at a cadet in the very center.

“Standard!”
“Arms-length interval, line up left and right.”
“Ugh!!”
Lining up while making strange noises that make you wonder why this is necessary.

“Among the various Individual Combat movements, I will first teach you the Low Crawl. Instructor, to your position.”
Thump! Thump!
An assistant instructor climbed onto the podium with movements that seemed inhuman.
By now, it’s a familiar face, to the point of being slightly welcome.

“Instructor, Low Crawl. Movement one!”
“One!”
Thud!
The instructor completely pressed his body, including his face, to the ground.

“This is movement one, the preparatory stance. As you can see, it’s important to bend your elbows, keep arms close to the body, and not spread your legs.”

Perhaps because it looks comfortable up to this point.
The cadets’ expressions were very calm.
As if thinking, ‘Today’s a breeze.’

“Instructor, movement two!”
“Two!”
This time too, with a repeated order, the instructor extended his left arm forward and raised his upper body.

“The key here is not to raise your upper body too much, to avoid exposure to the enemy. Movement three!”

“Three!”
The instructor pulled his body forward using his remaining right arm to drag himself.
A movement method minimizing leg use and focusing on arm strength.
It clearly looks exhausting.

“That’s the Low Crawl movement. Do you all understand?”
“Yes…!!”
“Then we’ll start immediately. Cadets, Low Crawl movement one!”
Since the demonstration is over, is it now our turn to be dragged to hell?
The instructor started the training without delay.

‘Damn it.’

Thinking ‘I’m screwed’ inwardly, I quickly pressed my body to the ground.

“Hold your sword with both hands. Dropping your sword here will be considered abandoning your life, and strong disciplinary education will be conducted!”

The instructor threatened in a menacing voice while walking among the cadets.

“Repeat the order. Movement two!”
“Movement two!!!!”
The movement of raising the upper body.
Well, honestly, it’s not difficult at all yet.
But there are always those who struggle.

“Who told you to straighten your back so nicely! Cadet, do you not understand the purpose of Individual Combat Training?”

“N…No, sir!”
“Then explain, why is this movement necessary in real combat?”
A question thrown along with a menacing gaze.
If he doesn’t answer properly, that cadet will definitely get a demerit.

“To conceal oneself, avoid detection by the enemy, and survive.”
“Hmm, correct. You know well. But do you think straightening your back like that is right?”
“No, sir!!!”
“Do it properly.”
“Yes, sir!!!”
Perhaps because he shouted loudly and gave the correct answer.
The instructor left without further comment.

‘He survives this. Is he Bear Grylls?’

Of course, that doesn’t mean he’s perfectly safe.
The real hell starts now.

“Movement three!”
“Movement three!!!!”
Swish swish swish!
As nearly a thousand cadets moved simultaneously, a sandstorm rose.

“It’s a movement essential to learn for survival on a battlefield where arrows and, recently, even magic tools run rampant. Perform it repeatedly. Movement one!”

“Movement one!”
Honestly, performing it once isn’t that hard.
But the problem with this is that it doesn’t end.

“From now on, perform it as a continuous movement. Low crawl towards the front, begin!”

“Begin!!!!”
Already 30 minutes since training started.
In that time, we’ve performed the movement over fifty times, and pain is slowly starting to rise from my elbows.

‘Damn, this is why you need to wear protective gear for Individual Combat.’

If they’d told us about the training in advance, I would have at least worn socks.

“Cadet, what did you just do? Would you stay still like that on the battlefield too?!”

A cadet who, exhausted, paused the movement once, had the bad luck of catching the instructor’s eye.

“Cadet, from now on, you will do it twice when others do it once. Understood?!”

“Understood, sir!!”
“Low crawl continuous movement!”
Swish swish! Swish swish!

“Training will not end until every cadet perfectly masters the movement!”

In other words, translated directly, he’s saying he’ll work us until he wants to end it.