Chapter 40
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: The Midnight Alarm
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After a twelve-hour ride, they arrived at the camp prepared for this field exercise.
The cadets who disembarked from the vehicles immediately gathered in the center of the camp to receive a briefing from Pleta, the overall instructor for this exercise.
“This place, as you all know, is inside the border, but it’s an extremely dangerous area. There aren’t even any cities, let alone small villages.”
Pleta was a woman with scars etched across her face and faint white hair that stood out.
Like most of the instructors and teachers, she was a veteran of the last Great War.
Perhaps because of that, her voice carried a magnetic pull that commanded everyone’s attention.
“So don’t even think about pulling any nonsense tonight. Get to bed early. We depart at dawn tomorrow.”
With that curt warning, Pleta finished her explanation and stepped back.
Afterward, the teachers and instructors went around, guiding everyone to the buildings where they’d spend the night.
The assigned building was utterly embarrassing compared to the academy dorms, but it was at least serviceable for a single night’s sleep.
“It’s been a while since we’ve all bunked together like this.”
Once the instructor left, Daniel approached and spoke up.
Abel nodded.
The room was shared only by the boys from their class.
“Better get some early sleep tonight.”
“Huh? I slept the whole ride.”
At Daniel’s retort, Abel paused for a moment before replying.
“Come to think of it, you’ll be fine either way.”
Anyone else might struggle, but Daniel had the stamina to pull an all-nighter without issue.
Abel left him to his own devices and sat cross-legged on his bed. He had no intention of actually sleeping.
Pleta had said the exercise would start at dawn, but Abel knew the truth.
‘About four hours left.’
The exercise would begin at the crack of dawn—right after midnight.
By his estimate, around 2 a.m.
So yes, four hours remaining.
Rather than risk sleeping and waking up sluggish, meditation was the better way to pass the time.
Falling asleep late from excitement, like the other cadets, would be the worst.
‘They probably planned it that way from the start.’
This was the first outdoor exercise.
The cadets, buzzing with tension and anticipation, would fall asleep late—only to be jolted awake in the predawn hours, disoriented and panicking.
That’s where the evaluation would begin.
How they responded in the confusion would determine their scores.
In that sense, Abel was already starting ahead of the pack.
“Huuuuu.”
Exhaling deeply, Abel slowly began his meditation.
Not the deep trance from the ride, but just enough to maintain his condition while killing time.
He let the chatter from the other cadets in the room flow in one ear and out the other.
Time passed steadily.
Soon, the dorm fell silent. Everyone was asleep.
It was quiet, but not peaceful.
More like the calm before the storm.
Abel felt a sharp unease pricking at his body. And when that sensation peaked—
WEEEEEENG—!
A blaring siren pierced their ears.
The moment he heard it, Abel opened his eyes.
“Ugh…….”
“What the…….”
Groans rose from all around.
A few quick-witted ones opened their eyes and tried to assess the situation, but sleep still clouded their gazes.
Abel, on the other hand, grabbed his gear from the side as if he’d been waiting and headed outside.
The sound still blaring was one they’d learned about in lectures.
Its meaning was simple: Enemy intrusion expected. Assemble immediately.
The assembly point had to be found manually. Usually marked in an obvious way.
Like that red lantern glowing over there.
Without hesitation, Abel headed toward it and soon reached a fairly wide clearing.
“Abel!”
The first to greet him in the clearing was Kaul’s booming voice.
Seeing Abel, Kaul grinned and said,
“You’re the first to arrive. Excellent.”
“Thank you.”
Abel gave a brief thanks and took position in front of him.
Kaul asked him,
“Did you suspect something?”
The question came out of nowhere, but Abel answered easily.
“I was considering various possibilities.”
“Possibilities?”
“Yes. The instructors’ words were a hint. They said there wouldn’t be time to rest after arrival, yet we were told to head straight to the dorms and get some good sleep.”
“Hoo.”
Kaul nodded, looking intrigued.
“So you figured it wouldn’t be that straightforward?”
“Yes. Considering the dangers of a field exercise, I thought they’d instill vigilance before it even properly began.”
“You saw right through it.”
Kaul seemed about to say more, but he fell silent as latecomers started rushing into the clearing.
Abel glanced back at them too.
Quite a few familiar faces were among them.
Iolin. Hena. Daniel. Rian. And others from the special class.
Of course, some from the special class were missing.
Others arrived around the same time.
Surprisingly, May had made it fairly early.
‘No, did someone drag her out?’
On closer look, May was being half-dragged by Darin from their class.
More cadets trickled in after that.
Daniel naturally took the spot next to Abel and muttered,
“I dozed off for a sec.”
Abel chuckled at that.
He’d seen Daniel jolt awake from a nap just as he was heading out.
“Attention!”
Abel was about to say something, but Pleta, standing at the front, commanded everyone’s focus with a loud voice.
“I see more cadets still coming. Listen up as you arrive.”
Pleta continued in a cold tone.
“This is the outside. No academy walls, no imperial fortifications. The exercise started the moment you arrived.”
Her words instantly sharpened everyone’s attention.
“Even outside of exercises, you can’t let your guard down for a second out here. Look at yourselves now.”
She went on.
“If this were real combat, at least half of you would be dead. In the field, there are no blaring alarms or helpful lights.”
It was obvious.
In a monster swarm, sirens or flashing lights would only draw more attention.
“Some of you might feel hard done by, hearing this after being told to rest up.”
Despite the content, her tone remained stiff and icy.
“Those people, reflect on that. With that rotten mindset, you’ll never become Gigant riders.”
Her biting words made the cadets’ expressions harden further.
But Pleta pressed on undeterred.
“Enough talk, then. The point of this exercise is to learn in real-combat situations.”
With that, she glanced at someone else and stepped back.
Next to step forward was none other than Kaul.
In a thunderous voice, he declared,
“Everyone, back to the vehicles! Exercise starts now!”
Panic flickered across the cadets’ faces.
But instead of retracting, Kaul pointed firmly to one side.
“Move!”
Abel bolted toward it without a second thought.
Moments later, he spotted rows of mana vehicles lined up.
Each had clear markings for the classes, so Abel boarded his without issue.
His classmates followed in a line.
The whole process took barely five minutes.
The doors sealed shut automatically, and a heavy silence settled inside.
“Where…… are we headed?”
Soon, one cadet spoke up. Kailen, his name was.
“Who knows. They said the exercise starts now, so probably to wherever the Gigants are.”
Another replied.
It was a reasonable guess.
They’d been told the exercise Gigants would be pre-positioned at the site, and there were none at the camp.
“Yeah, probably.”
“Guess so. Wonder how the exercise’ll go.”
Once the ice broke, the cadets chimed in one by one.
Less out of a desire to chat, more to quell their fear and tension.
Abel, meanwhile, stayed silent, not joining in.
This wasn’t the time for idle talk.
They might imagine boarding Gigants comfortably for simulated combat, but Del Modor Academy wasn’t that lenient.
In truth, as Pleta had said, the exercise was already underway.
Abel hugged his gear close, reminding himself of that.
And just twenty minutes into the ride, his prediction came true.
KABOOOM—!
A deafening explosion rocked their ears.
The vehicle lurched violently at the same time.
The chatting cadets froze at the unexpected noise and impact.
“Everyone out! The vehicle’s damaged! We need to move!”
The driver knight’s voice rang out.
Most cadets floundered, failing to grasp the situation, but not all.
Kalian, seated nearest the door, blocked those trying to open it and shouted,
“Wait! It could be a trap!”
“A trap?”
“Yeah! We heard it in the briefing. In danger, the safest spot is inside the vehicle. Hold out until clear orders come!”
He was right.
These mana vehicles prepared for cadets weren’t just sturdy—they boasted top-tier defenses.
Enough to serve as temporary barricades in emergencies.
That’s why they’d been taught to assess from inside before rushing out during an attack.
“B-but the knight said to get out!”
“He did!”
But the panicked cadets, minds gone blank, tried to force the door anyway.
That’s when Abel spoke up.
“Kalian’s right.”
“What?”
“First off, has anyone here actually heard the knight’s voice before?”
His sudden question left them all speechless.
No wonder.
No one had.
During the entire twelve-hour trip, the driver hadn’t uttered a word.
They’d chalked it up to him being taciturn, but now it felt suspicious.
“The shout itself could be a ruse. You all know the cockpit has weaker defenses, right?”
Unlike the passenger area, the driver’s compartment needed clear visibility, so its armor was thinner.
An enemy could easily impersonate the knight to lure them out.
“So…….”
“What do we…… do?”
The cadets muttered blankly, at a loss.
Even the better ones just scanned around cautiously, offering no solutions.
Watching them, Abel added,
“The protocol is to maintain combat readiness and standby.”
Just standard procedure.
He offered no further options because there was no need.
‘Just wait it out.’
Even without game knowledge, calm thinking would reveal it.
Too many oddities for a real enemy attack.
Creak—.
Less than a minute later, the rear door slid open.
Kalian, blocking it, and the nearby cadets recoiled instantly.
Unarmed, but ready to fight barehanded if needed.
But the hostile air vanished in a flash.
Stepping through the door was Kaul himself.
Beaming at the cadets, he said brightly,
“Calm response. Class A, you all pass.”
Question marks floated across the cadets’ faces.