Summer Comprehensive Training (3)
"Now it finally feels like real combat."
Sana tossed out her succinct impression. Sure enough, for a gate incident, it was downright weird that not a single building was damaged and everything was perfectly intact. You needed something like a gas explosion blowing away everything above the fourth floor of an apartment to really sell the gate outbreak vibe. Up until now, the setup had felt a bit too skimpy, honestly.
So if they shone here, they could make up for that earlier deduction—even her teammates had spotted the monster's true nature, after all.
"Everyone, stay sharp. From now on, it's not just about wiping out enemies—we have to rescue civilians too. Keep your guard at maximum during rescue ops."
Of course, she'd handle the rescues herself. Guarding against monsters didn't draw eyes like that. In the end, the star was the rescuer. The juicy spotlight naturally went to the leader, Sana.
With such a solid justification, neither Josef nor Yujin objected. Compared to cumbersome weapons like pile drivers or bows, gauntlets left her hands free anyway.
"Alright, first let's check for nearby civilians..."
Just as she moved to deploy Sense Qi, Sana realized it. Her Sense Qi, which had worked fine moments ago, wasn't cooperating. Reception was crap, like a radio wrapped in aluminum foil.
Obviously, her condition or skill hadn't suddenly tanked. This was...
"The qi attribute changed?"
The gate's qi attribute, which had been neutral enough for smooth Sense Qi, Gather Qi, and Emit Qi, had shifted to something hostile to Sense Qi.
It wasn't unusable, but efficiency would tank for sure. A Sense Qi specialist could handle it effortlessly even now, but at freshman level? No way.
"...If Sense Qi gets tricky, how do we tell civilians from monsters?"
Josef asked. Neither Sana nor Yujin had an answer.
※
"Yeah, right up to the original plot."
This sudden twist smacked the cadets—lax from the surprisingly easy exam—right in the back of the head.
Gates weren't locked to a single qi attribute. They could shift with time, external interference, or other factors. Adapting on the fly was a hero's key virtue.
Of course, bulldozing through with raw specs was ideal, but freshmen couldn't pull that off.
Now the cadets faced a real dilemma. Collapsing buildings, gas explosions sparking fires. The "civilians'" lives hung by a thread.
But were they real civilians or disguised monsters? Ignoring them meant deductions. Rushing in blindly and getting ambushed? Even worse penalties.
No absolute right answer here. Principles like "Aspiring heroes must throw themselves for civilians" weren't ironclad.
Judged by results. Could they navigate the dilemma with skill, luck, and guts for the best outcome? That's what this training tested.
"Wonder how the others are handling it?"
"This isn't even a choice! We must exhaust ourselves on rescues. Fearing one might be a monster is unbecoming of a hero!"
True to her heroic bloodline, Esmeralda declared firmly. Raised by one of the world's greatest men, anything but righteousness was unthinkable. Grades were secondary.
"You'll support me, yes? I can't do it alone. I'm best at Gather Qi, so I'll handle rescues solo! You two guard the rescued civilians. Can you manage?"
"Of course, Lady Esmeralda!"
"Trust us!"
She volunteered for the riskiest role, and her team backed her fiercely. A tad romantic, but solid team vibe. Esmeralda had biases, but she was decent deep down.
"Hm... I'll take point. With Gather Qi shielding my body, I can tank a few hits."
"You sure? Honestly, at our level, distinguishing monsters from real civilians is tough. What if something goes wrong?"
"Yeah, but if we hesitate on rescues even in training, we'll freeze in real combat too. That's the point of this drill. Grades are secondary, right?"
"......"
"We're all here because of others' sacrifices. And we've come this far ready to emulate them. So... yeah, let's do it. Training the guts to sacrifice if needed."
"...If you say so, Ayumi, I trust you."
"Uh, hey. If we get hurt fighting, will you heal us personally, Ayumi?"
"Ayumi, you idiot! Now's not the time for that!"
Ayumi's team was buzzing too. Our pink girl had a soft charisma, rallying them naturally.
Most teams chose similarly. The loudspeaker had explicitly ordered rescues, after all. Hesitate or not, paths converged.
But one woman bucked the trend.
"Let other cadets handle rescues. We focus on the gate core."
"What?!"
Sana's call shocked Josef and Yujin. Ignoring examiners to clear the test their way? Was that allowed?
"Assume a real gate outbreak. What's the surest way to minimize damage? Closing it ASAP, obviously."
Logical. Faster closure cut civilian casualties, hero losses, property damage. No argument there.
"Don't fixate on trees—see the forest. Heroes need cool judgment to prevent greater harm. Other cadets are already moving. Us piling on won't change much. Someone has to solve the root."
Not wrong. But to Yujin, it sounded like an excuse. Dodging when things got tough. Not inherently bad—such pragmatists had their place.
...But was this the hero he envisioned? Doubt gnawed.
"I get the point, but without knowing the core's location, it's meaningless. If we miss it, we're worse off than rescuers—huge deductions?"
Josef's valid point. Sana was ready.
"No worries. I've already pinpointed it."
"Really?"
"The qi attribute shifted, right? Attributes don't flip like switches. Changes ripple from the core across the gate."
So trace back from Sense Qi-unfriendly zones to the core easily.
Skilled techs could exhaust a gate's qi by occupation alone, but finding and smashing the core was textbook.
"Let's go. Follow."
No more debate—she led. Josef and Yujin had no choice.
"Aaaah! Help! My child! My kid fell into the crevice!"
"Ugh! Save us! The monsters are too strong—we can't hold! Someone!"
"Eek! Fire's spreading! Help!!"
"...Kinda tugs at the heart. Right? I know it's all fake, acting... but my chest still tightens."
"...Yeah."
The pleas were staged. Monster or not, same deal. No way a cadet drill risked real deaths. And monsters lurked disguised, ready to sucker-punch.
Knowing that, Yujin's heart still pounded.
Is this right?
Heroes made tough calls sometimes. He got that, accepted it. But heroes shouldn't normalize hard choices. Something felt off.
"This way."
Deeper in, darkness thickened—not visual, but qi sense. Sense Qi faltered, overloading normal senses worse.
But that confirmed they were on track.
At the end, they spotted the unseeable.
"......"
"...That's the core?"
"I-it's... visible, right? It's really there? Not just my eyes glitching?"
Eerie shape. Senses locked on, but brain dismissed it. Staring straight, yet blink and it'd vanish. The source of "invisible qi."
"...Good, that's definitely the gate core. Smash it, training ends. Simple?"
Sana flexed her gauntlet fingers, advancing.
"I'll strike first. Jump in if I need power."
"...Yeah."
"Got it!"
Sana wound up at the upright core. Sucking in ambient, intangible qi into her fist. Shoulders taut like a drawn bowstring, she unleashed.
BOOM!!!!
A thunderous impact. An alarm clock hated by TAS-loving boss monsters.
-GRRRRAAAAAHHH-
※
"Whoops, out it comes."
"Great idea rushing the core... but too bad."
Observing heroes shook their heads, clucking tongues. Me too.
Huh? That thing from the event too?
Shadow-wreathed giant skeleton. Wielding a scythe taller than a man. I knew it—spawned in fluid gates if you lingered, blocking cheese strats.
Didn't expect it in summer training.
"...Um, what's that monster?"
Ask if you don't know. No one rags on a freshman for gaps.
As expected, the hero beside me answered without annoyance.
"Oh, that? Penalty for ignoring examiners and speedrunning the clear."
"There's stuff like that?"
"They probably thought it'd save more lives. But what if it was a trap leading to worse danger? What if 'ends justify means' backfired? Teaches that."
Harsh... Way too cruel, planting that without warning.
I'd cheese it easy, but at their level? Tough... impossible, even.
But I spotted odd hope in the other heroes' eyes for Sana's team.
"Reaching the core that fast is impressive. Maybe they pull it off."
"Showing something? This freshman's got green potential."
"Win and end training? New record. Let's see it."
Most heroes rooted for Sana's team. Pity for TAS-defiers simmered low, unspoken.
I realized: This world, this warzone, brimmed with unfairness. Logical acts often backfired.
What did heroes need most? Calculating irrationality? Vital, sure.
But more: Destiny and power to smash sudden BS.
Active heroes craved that.
"...Show us something, Yujin. You're the protagonist."