Chapter 36
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Army of Death #1
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Damarcus was a hulking brute whose neck was as thick as my thigh.
No exaggeration—he was easily over two meters tall.
With all that metal-plated armor weighing him down, it felt like a rhinoceros stomping around.
"What're you staring at, asshole?"
The rhinoceros was twitching his eyebrows at me.
'You want me to hit that guy with this stick?'
The club in my hand had never looked so pathetic.
I was sizing up the situation when the instructor asked Damarcus.
"Why didn't you run your hardest? For that, ten whacks with the stick!"
"Hah? What the hell? I just had to show up—since when do I gotta run too?"
Tension rippled through the air.
Everyone shut up and watched.
Damarcus let out a sharp snicker.
"You fucking idiots. You drag out a guy who was working his ass off—what the hell is this? Commissioning? Graduation? I was raking in Ether just fine without any of that shit!"
Honestly, I kinda got it.
I'd been living the good life behind the Great Wall too.
I missed Hammer and Hermit.
Even Felix!
'They were good party members.'
Just two weeks, and I'd see them again?
I had to remember to pick up souvenirs on the way back.
Damarcus kept yelling.
"I'm Damarcus, the rising star who hit level 12 in half a year! I killed one of the Dragonkin centurions, that's me!"
Level 12 in half a year?
How did that stack up to me?
I was counting on my fingers when the red-haired female instructor approached him.
"Hoo, I had no idea we had such a big shot here."
"Better late than never."
"Then I guess I should give our rising star a personal reward."
Whoosh—.
The instructor wrapped her arms around Damarcus's waist.
Was she gonna kiss him like she did to me?
Damn, lucky bastard!
"What the? I like 'em frail and dainty. Kekekeke!"
Damarcus snickered weakly, and the guys around burst out laughing.
But the laughter didn't last.
Crack, craaaack—.
"Wha—huh...? F-Fuck! Let... let go!"
The red-haired instructor squeezed Damarcus's waist even harder.
"Let go! You fucking biiitch!"
Damarcus's eyes bulged from the pressure, and the iron-plated armor he wore crumpled.
"You whoreeee! Let me gooo!"
Thud thud thud—.
He even swung his fists at the instructor's face—but.
"Treating me, contractor of the superior god Moron, like thiiiis—urk... grrrk!"
Craaack—.
With a final scream caught in his throat, Damarcus's body bent like a bow and folded in half.
All fifty-something gazes in the room locked on him, but no one said a word.
The sight of him foaming at the mouth and rigid left everyone speechless.
'Aren't Blessed Ones supposed to be rare talents?'
'Level 12—that's a huge loss!'
What the hell just happened?
Even I was dumbfounded when the instructor spat blood and laughed.
"Guys like this asshole, with no sense and acting like the world's their bitch? They'd just piss off other explorers and die early anyway."
What a outrageous thing to say!
But no one argued—turns out everyone hated the rhino Damarcus.
"Dying in the arms of a hot babe like me? That's a lucky death!"
Thump thump—.
The instructor pounded her chest with her palm.
"I'm Lieutenant Colonel Rose of the Hammer Brigade! From now on, who you were and what you did means jack shit! Got it?"
"...Y-..."
"Ma'am!"
"Uh..."
The responses were all over the place.
We looked like a total ragtag bunch, and it pissed off Instructor Rose—she scowled hard.
"This batch is nothing but spineless pretty boys! Fine, I'll give you a chance to bail now! Cowards, line up over there!"
Someone raised a hand.
"If we go over there, we can drop out?"
"Yeah, genius!"
Maybe because of the murder that just happened, people started slinking away one by one.
Ruuush—.
....
..
.
Nearly half of the fifty dropped out.
If I went there, could I go back to my old squad?
But no.
Finishing in the top five got me a wish from Brigadier General Ezekiel.
'Any wish at all?'
With half the number dropping out, my odds of top five just doubled!
Talk about good luck!
"Heh heh, you're sticking around, bro?"
Someone poked my side.
Weasel Snick.
"Surprising! Thieves usually have less than a fifty percent shot at graduating the academy!"
"Yeah?"
"And the instructor's from the Hammer Brigade. Those 3rd Legion guys who fight Akhams—you saw how little they think of human life with Damarcus, right?"
Hammer Brigade—.
I'd heard Hammer served there.
Probably named after the brigade.
Did Instructor Rose know Hammer?
And the mention of "Akham" made me touch the necklace around my neck.
"Heh heh heh, but bro, your name's Yor? You wouldn't be that Yor who pickled the 'one-eyed freak,' would ya?"
"Probably."
"Damn, taking down that cunning bastard. You're a cut above, bro!"
"Heh heh. Just got lucky."
"Psh, in this line of work, luck's a skill. Survivor takes all!"
Turned out I was weak to compliments.
My nose itched, so I rubbed it with my index finger when Snick stuck out his hand.
"Lucky bro, let's get through these two weeks."
I shook it.
"Let's survive, weasel."
"Ehey, you got snot all over my hand!"
We both laughed ha-ha, but our eyes sized each other up hard.
'This prick's probably buttering me up to scam me later.'
The weasel was thinking the same about me.
Made it fair, in a way.
"But weasel, what's this about the Hammer Brigade fighting Akhams?"
"You never ran into any Akhams, bro?"
"Just heard the name."
"Makes sense—2nd Legion was Erdarri turf."
Apparently, each legion had its own enemies.
I'd been with a 2nd Legion explorer squad.
"Akhams are death's harbingers, straight up. Nothing left alive where they pass—not even ants. Erdarri? Angels by comparison. Angels!"
"Erdarri are angels?"
"Yeah! You can at least talk to those pointy-eared cuties. They say they look all plump and cuddly like moles."
What bullshit.
It soured my mood.
"Weasel, you don't know shit. Erdarri are all devils. Fall for those looks, and next thing you know, your skull's cracked open like a dissected frog."
"You've met 'em?"
"Three times!"
"Alive after three meetings? Must not be that bad. Nobody survives two Akham encounters!"
Akham or not, could they be worse than evil Erdarri?
How do you explain the real world's dangers to this naive hick?
"Enough chit-chat!"
Boom—.
Instructor Rose bellowed.
Her voice was huge—no wonder, from the same outfit as Hammer.
"I gave you a chance, and you chose to stay!"
Officer training was way harder than I thought.
We ran about 30 km a day, felt like.
We did leg raises lying on the ground too.
"Hell Exercise Number Eight, thirty reps! No callouts on the last set!"
"Twenty-eight!"
"Twenty-nine!"
"Twenty-nine!"
Just lifting your legs left and right.
But it squeezed your whole body like a rag.
"Nuuugh!"
"Naaaagh!"
Screams like ripping muscles filled the training yard.
Warriors handled the physical torture okay.
But I seriously wanted to drop out—horns sprouting and all.
"......"
"......"
"Thir—ty!"
"I said no callouts, you morons! Worst batch of thick-headed shits I've seen in years of instructing! First three to touch the mess hall pillar and back!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—.
This footrace was kinda fun.
I could usually take first.
"Heh heh, you're fast, bro? Neck and neck with me."
"Weasel, you live up to your name."
Thieves were definitely quicker than other classes.
Pushing limits together like this? Kinda got a feel for the others.
Slowest were mages and priests, no doubt.
"Haaack, haaack—."
"G-Gonna... die...."
After that, I learned map reading, tent pitching, splinting broken limbs, wound care, and more.
Surprisingly useful stuff.
'If I learn this good, Hammer'll love it.'
Plus, Instructor Rose praised me plenty.
"Damn, pretty boy! First thief I've seen taking training this seriously!"
"Thanks to your excellent instruction, ma'am!"
"You talk nice too! Ditch that last callout habit, and you're perfect!"
Was I cut out for military life?
Anyway, after four sweaty days, we were all like old pals—no awkwardness.
"Yor, you really got hanged twice on the gallows?"
Solar Church priestess Barturi asked.
Barturi was the only female cadet in the batch.
Nomad stock—small eyes, dark skin, not super pretty, but sweet and hardworking. Everyone liked her.
"You really got hanged twice?"
"Yeah! Rope snapped right before the drop—saved my ass!"
Would've been such a lame way to go.
Glad I survived, I thought—then Barturi giggled.
"Your story's just like Narakje's!"
"Narakje?"
"That bastard survived two hangings too, right?"
That guy?
Suddenly, my uniqueness vanished.
No way I'd lose.
"I was nearly choked by the umbilical cord at birth too. Technically, three hangings. Better than Narakje."
"Bull!"
Ding ding ding ding—!
The bell rang.
We bolted to the training yard like clockwork.
"Today! You'll sortie to Undaine Citadel! That's Akham territory—remember, the careless die first!"
Sortie!
Finally!
My body itched thinking of all the Ether we'd missed out on.
Best part? Akham territory.
The treasure necklace from shaman Moltma.
Maybe this was my chance to use it!