Chapter 19
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: The End of Training
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“Dig in!”
“Whoa! It’s meat!”
The only day you could eat steak at the training center was after the platoon competition.
In this moment, everyone set aside their disappointment over the results and enjoyed the meal.
“Oh… they really went all out, huh?”
“The quality of the meat is a bit lacking, but at least it’s cooked well. To think we can eat meat like this at the training center… *chew, chew*, hehehe.”
“…You’re picky about how it’s cooked?”
Demian asked, looking at Kyle, who had stuffed his mouth full of steak.
He looked like the type to tear into raw meat, yet here he was talking about how it was cooked.
Kyle furrowed his brow.
“What, *chew, chew, chew*. Did you think I’d just eat anything you put in front of me?”
“Pretty much.”
“What?!”
Demian chuckled at Kyle’s words, then glanced around.
‘…Looks like Master has already left.’
It would’ve been nice to talk a little more.
A sense of regret lingered.
But it was this very feeling that made him look forward to their next meeting.
Demian enjoyed the atmosphere, toasting with his platoon mates, their cups filled with drinks.
Just then.
“Mind if I join you for a moment?”
“Oh?! Instructor!”
“Please, sit here!”
The sudden appearance of Head Instructor Raymond had the members of Platoon 1 scrambling to their feet.
The trainee sitting next to Demian quickly stood up and offered his seat.
“Thank you.”
As he sat down, Demian also took his seat and looked at him.
“It’s a shame there’s no alcohol, but I hope you all eat your fill and have a good time.”
“Yes, sir!”
Raymond smiled faintly at the booming reply and turned to Demian.
“Still no change in your decision?”
“…No, sir.”
“A real shame. It would have been a great opportunity.”
“I don’t regret it.”
“Haha, is that so? By the way, did you know?”
“Know what, sir?”
As Demian asked, Raymond’s gaze shifted elsewhere.
Toward where Platoon 3 was.
“That Instructor Leonhard also offered Apel a position in the knight order.”
“…Is that so?”
It made perfect sense.
Especially if he’d seen yesterday’s platoon competition, he would have instantly recognized how capable Apel was.
“Aren’t you curious? What choice he made.”
“Whatever his choice, I will respect it. Apel’s life is his own.”
“Hahahaha, what a dull boy.”
An age so young that even the word “youth” didn’t quite fit.
When talking with Demian, it was easy to forget his age.
‘Thirteen years old… Hard to believe.’
It wasn’t just because of his exceptional skill.
His manner of speech, the content of his words, and even the look in his eyes.
Everything about him was too mature, too profound, to belong to a thirteen-year-old.
‘I suppose I can’t stop him.’
It was a pity, but it couldn’t be helped.
All he could do was cheer for the path ahead of him.
Raymond stood up and raised his glass.
“Alright, everyone, you’ve all worked hard these past two weeks!”
His shout quieted the boisterous atmosphere for a moment.
And all eyes focused on Raymond.
Raymond scanned the crowd and spoke.
“Starting tomorrow, training resumes. I hope you all brace yourselves and train hard to achieve what you desire!”
“Uraaaaaaaaaaah!”
As if on cue, all the trainees roared in response.
Raymond raised his glass high and shouted.
“For the glory of the kingdom!”
“For the glory of the kingdom!”
Although the lack of alcohol was a slight disappointment.
‘What a hell of a night.’
Amidst the rowdy laughter, the midpoint of their training passed.
* * *
The third week of training began.
“Hup! Hah! Hup!”
“Louder! Thrust harder, faster!”
After the memorable platoon competition, the instructors’ fervor burned even hotter.
An instructor approached a trainee and corrected his grip on the spear.
“You have to grip it tightly like this so you don’t lose your spear when blocking an enemy’s attack. Dropping your weapon on the battlefield is the same as death!”
“Yes, sir!”
The trainees’ attitudes had also changed.
Everyone approached their training more seriously and diligently than before.
In many ways, a very positive change had swept through the 3rd Training Center.
However…
“Whew, did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“Platoon 4. I heard the atmosphere there is completely shot. A few of them apparently just dropped out.”
“Dropped out?!”
“Whoa, seriously? They went through all that trouble to get in, only to drop out after two weeks?”
After the platoon competition, the atmosphere in Platoon 4 had changed.
The trust between the platoon members shattered, and they broke off into several small cliques.
Among them, the platoon leader, Slit-Eyes, and a few others had already left the training center.
They were like defeated soldiers who’d had the misfortune of a bad commander.
It was a pathetic sight, but…
“Do we have time to worry about others? We might have gotten a decent score in the competition, but we all have to think about our individual scores too.”
The Platoon 1 member who was speaking glanced at Demian.
“Thanks to Demian, we got a high score for the competition, but on the other hand, that means no one besides Demian and Kyle really stood out.”
“That’s… true.”
“So we have to work harder in the time we have left. Everyone wants to go to the royal palace, right?”
Though unspoken, everyone was thinking the same thing.
The royal palace.
And within it, a position as a Royal Administrative Soldier.
The absolute cushiest post.
But out of 160 trainees, only 30 could apply for the palace.
And of those, only 10 could become administrative soldiers.
Moreover, even within that group, competition for department placement was fierce.
They had to get good scores, no matter what, to be assigned to a more comfortable post.
“Hehehe, everyone seems pretty intense.”
“That’s because we all applied for the same reason.”
“What, you’re aiming to be a Royal Administrative Soldier too?”
Kyle’s eyes went wide as he looked at Demian.
Demian shook his head.
“I’m not going to the palace.”
“Why? With your scores, you could easily get into the palace, probably even as an administrative soldier.”
“Hehehe, do you want to be a Royal Administrative Soldier?”
Demian asked Kyle with a low chuckle.
Kyle stroked his chin, contemplating.
“Well… it seems like it’d be a bit stuffy, but since they say it’s the best place to be, shouldn’t I try to go?”
“Forget it. A guy like you would last a month before you’d storm out.”
“Why’s that?”
“You’d suffocate.”
“Kekekekek, I guess that’s true.”
Kyle burst out laughing. But soon, his expression turned serious as he asked Demian.
“So where are you planning to go?”
“I’m going to the Neokalitz Unit.”
“…?!”
Kyle’s expression was even more shocked than before.
“The Neokalitz Unit?”
Kyle had heard of them.
No, among those who enlisted, very few wouldn’t know the name Neokalitz Unit.
They were that famous.
Infamous, rather.
“Do you even know what kind of place that is?”
“Of course.”
An unhesitating reply.
Kyle couldn’t hide his dumbfounded expression.
“I knew my guess was right.”
“What guess?”
“You’re a madman.”
Kyle shot up from his seat and shouted to the other platoon members.
“You can all rejoice, you bastards! One spot for a Royal Administrative Soldier just opened up!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Kyle, what do you mean?”
“Demian said he’s not going to the palace! He’s going to the Neokalitz Unit!”
“…!?”
“…?!”
As Kyle shouted, the platoon members’ faces were the very definition of a question mark.
“Why?”
“Neokalitz?”
“Is he crazy?”
This was the normal reaction.
Because that’s the kind of name Neokalitz was.
But just then.
“Agh, just shut up!”
*Thwack!*
“Gack!”
Demian, still seated, kicked the back of Kyle’s knee.
With a little bit of mana.
“Aaaaargh! Hitting your comrade…!”
It wasn’t an exaggeration; it really hurt.
As Kyle rolled on the ground screaming, Demian smirked.
And so, the short break came to an end.
“Resuming training!”
“Yes, sir!”
At the instructor’s appearance, everyone got to their feet.
* * *
Time flew by.
It felt like just yesterday they had entered the training center, but the day of their discharge had already arrived.
The training period, which held different stories for each person, was coming to a close.
One month.
A period of time some might call ‘a mere’ month.
But in that time, the more than 150 trainees had changed significantly from when they first arrived.
The platoon leaders, and even the instructors who had finished the training, all watched them with pleased expressions.
Although a few had dropped out along the way, this batch was very different from the others.
‘There were quite a few exceptional ones.’
Just the most conspicuous ones were Demian, Apel, and Kyle.
Besides them, there was Gerard, the leader of Platoon 3, and several other soldiers who were quite capable.
If not for the geniuses ahead of them, they were the types who would have aimed for the top scores in a normal year.
Raymond watched them with a satisfied expression.
Soon, Barus, the company commander of the 3rd Training Center, walked onto the stage and looked at the trainees standing on the parade ground.
“I am Captain Barus, company commander of the 3rd Training Center. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Barus’s discharge speech began.
It could have been boring for everyone, but the thought that this was the end made even this feel somewhat overwhelming.
“…You have all worked hard. I wish you the best in your future endeavors. This concludes the discharge ceremony.”
“All units, attention!”
*Snap!*
At the shout of the representative Platoon 1 leader, everyone snapped into a sharp posture.
“To the Company Commander, salute!”
“For the glory of the kingdom!”
The discharge ceremony ended with the final salute.
And as Barus went inside, Raymond stepped onto the stage and spoke.
“You all worked very hard. Soon, your scores will be released, but these scores are merely your current standing, not a reflection of your future.”
Continue to strive forward and contribute to the kingdom.
After Raymond finished speaking, the names of the top five were called.
“Demian.”
“Here!”
Demian was called first.
“Apel.”
“Here!”
Apel was called second.
The third was Kyle, the fourth was Gerard, and the fifth was the leader of Platoon 2.
“The five who were just called have the opportunity to choose one piece of equipment from the 3rd Training Center’s armory. Those called, follow me.”
‘…Finally.’
This was the moment Demian had been waiting for.
Demian followed Raymond to the armory located inside the 3rd Training Center.
They weren’t high-grade artifacts, but fitting for an armory, there was a magical device that controlled the humidity and temperature.
“Anything inside here is fine. You can only take one, so bring it with you.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then, in order… Demian, you go first.”
Starting with the top graduate.
Demian nodded and entered the armory.
“…Oh.”
Unlike outside, the temperature was quite cool, the humidity just right.
But what was more surprising was the state of the equipment stored inside.
Weapons, armor, and accessories were stored separately, making them easy to see at a glance.
“…Wow, they even have things like this?”
Even potions and reagents were sorted in a corner.
For a simple training center armory, it held quite a variety of items.
Demian raised his mana and scanned all the equipment.
He was checking to see if there were any other hidden treasures he didn’t know about.
‘Nothing.’
It was to be expected, but he still felt a little disappointed. However, Demian immediately turned to where the accessories were stored.
At the end of a display case filled with a variety of colorful accessories.
A ring caught Demian’s eye.
It was exactly as he’d heard it described.
A blackish ring with no decorations or patterns.
It was so shabby he wondered why it was even here, but…
Demian picked up the ring.
“…Found it.”