Chapter 5
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Encounter
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"Heave!"
With a grunt, the applicants hoisted rocks the size of human heads.
The rocks weren't massive, but they weighed over thirty kilograms.
‘It’s clearly meant to weed out the overeager fledglings.’
It was a simple but difficult test.
Especially since the stones were round with no handholds, lifting them to the waist was easy enough, but getting them above the shoulders was a real challenge.
"Hup!"
But Demian, who had a firm grip with both hands, let out a short breath and lifted the rock high.
"Whoa!"
"What the hell!"
"That kid... he's not bad."
Most of the applicants were men in their late teens to early twenties.
None were as young as Demian.
Those who had expected Demian to fail looked on with some surprise at his success. But…
"Still... he's just a kid."
"The army isn't so lenient that a fresh-faced brat like him can get in, heh heh."
Demian smirked at the men who were openly mocking him.
‘They’ll be the first to run when the war breaks out.’
There was only one reason guys like them wanted to join the army.
It was a kind of meal ticket—a secure job where you got a steady paycheck just for going through the motions of training.
But in five years, when the Empire's war of conquest turned the continent into a sea of blood, the story would be completely different.
Battles for your life would become a daily routine.
"Pass!"
Having passed the first test, Demian prepared for the next.
It would just be a few more physical drills, and then finally, a test on the kingdom's history.
The process itself wasn't that difficult, but with a limited number of spots, the performance of the competition was inevitably a concern.
There were already some guys giving Demian dirty looks.
‘This old soul understands.’
More than half of them would be sent home in failure.
Demian ignored them and got ready for the next test. But just then.
"Hey."
"…?"
A boy suddenly approached Demian.
At a glance, he looked distinctly younger than the other applicants.
About the same age as Demian, perhaps?
But the boy walked up to Demian, then grinned and spoke.
"You're an interesting one."
"…?"
But for some reason…
His face seemed familiar, like he'd seen it somewhere before.
An inexplicably familiar face.
Demian stared at him blankly. But then…
"Hah, gasp!"
Demian gasped in spite of himself. The boy tilted his head.
"...What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"You... your name is...?"
"My name? It's Apel."
Apel… Vanstriol.
‘It is him.’
He’d run into someone completely unexpected.
* * *
Apel Vanstriol.
How could he not know this guy?
This damn bastard was the most successful commoner Demian knew of.
A legend among legends, who had risen to the rank of general and received a count's title by the mere age of thirty.
So why did he call him a damn bastard?
Isn't it obvious?
‘Because I was so damn… jealous!’
He was an object of pure envy for Demian.
That’s why his face was seared into Demian's memory after seeing him just once.
He just hadn't recognized him at first, given his much younger and rounder features compared to the man he'd seen in his past life.
‘I thought he was a sharp and serious guy.’
Seeing him now, he seemed a bit different. But regardless of that…
‘…I’m so dumbfounded I can’t even speak.’
He truly never expected to meet him here.
To think that the 3rd Training Center, the place he chose to meet his old comrades, was where this guy got his start.
‘Should I think of this… as another twist of fate?’
He didn't know what his relationship with this guy would become, but one thing was certain.
‘There’s no reason to be on bad terms with him.’
Demian asked with a puzzled look.
"I'm Demian. What's so interesting?"
"You have to ask?"
Apel glanced around before stepping closer to Demian and speaking.
"You... you're learning to use mana."
Apel said it in a small whisper.
At his words, Demian's expression hardened slightly.
‘So that’s why?’
There was no law saying a commoner couldn't learn to use mana, but it was extremely rare for them to do so.
Unless they had support from an incredibly wealthy family or a very special reason, a commoner simply couldn't learn to use mana.
When Demian let out a chuckle, Apel extended his hand.
"I was bored without anyone my age around. Nice to meet you."
"You too."
As Demian shook Apel's hand, Apel grinned and said.
"Let's make sure we both pass and get in together."
"Yeah, you too."
Of course, even if he didn't say it, the guy would pass.
He might even pass with the highest scores among all the applicants here.
Demian watched Apel turn away, then immediately turned around himself.
‘Right... now for the next test.’
Demian checked the schedule for the next test. And…
"...Ah, this one?"
A fifteen-kilometer endurance run.
It seemed like a simple test, but there was a reason this fifteen-kilometer run was considered a bit special.
"Applicants, we will now begin the second test! Report to the training grounds according to your number, quickly!"
With so many applicants, the fifteen-kilometer run was held across four separate training grounds.
Demian headed to the training ground corresponding to his number.
An instructor standing on a platform saw the assembled applicants and shouted.
"The time limit is one hour and thirty minutes! You must complete the run within that time. Bumping shoulders or minor collisions with other applicants during the run is permitted, but you are absolutely forbidden from attacking others with your fists or feet. Furthermore, leaving the designated track will result in disqualification for rule violation, so please be mindful of this!"
The instructor then shouted to ask if there were any more questions, but no one answered.
Most of them had come with a general idea of what to expect.
Besides, this endurance run had an interesting element to it.
‘Minor collisions are allowed, but attacking is not…’
Demian could already see them clearly.
The ‘instructors’ disguised as applicants, participating in the test.
The applicants at the starting line waited for the signal with tense expressions.
Demian was just lightly loosening his wrists and ankles.
"Oh? We're in the same group."
"Apel."
"Let's do our best."
Apel came up beside him and nudged his arm. Demian nodded in response.
And then, the test began.
*Peeeeep!*
At the sound of the whistle, about fifty applicants started running simultaneously.
The training ground was quite large, but with over fifty people running together, it felt a bit chaotic.
*Thud-thud-thud! Thud!*
Just then, a few groups started to sprint ahead.
‘Starting right from the get-go, huh.’
They were the instructors Demian had spotted earlier.
They shot forward at a considerable speed and soon began to form a wall at the front.
"Huh?"
"What the hell are they doing?"
A few applicants who hadn't grasped the situation looked confused, but…
"...Hmph, so it begins?"
"That must be the infamous Crying Wall I've heard about."
The applicants who had anticipated it, however, watched the instructors with serious eyes.
It was called an endurance run, but to be precise…
‘The real test is to break through the instructors' interference and finish fifteen kilometers in under an hour and a half.’
Because of this, most of the people who failed were those who couldn't shake the instructors and didn't make it within the time limit.
The situation would be the same at the other training grounds.
So, everyone must have come up with various strategies for this situation.
The instructor interference in the endurance run was a long-standing tradition at the training center.
"Hah, they say this test is basically about whether you can break through that wall or not. Running fifteen kilometers in an hour and a half is just the baseline."
"You knew about it?"
"Well, it's pretty famous. But it doesn't matter. I'll just follow along slowly and then overtake them at the end."
Apel shrugged as if it were no big deal.
At his words, Demian looked at the instructors up ahead.
Of course, as Apel said, he could just conserve his stamina by following slowly and then push past the instructors when the time was right.
‘That’s a decent enough plan.’
However.
"...That's not my style."
He hated hesitating and playing mind games.
Everyone else might be thinking up their own strategies, but.
"This is my strategy."
"...?"
Apel tilted his head at Demian's low murmur. But in the next moment…
*Whoosh!*
"Huh?"
Apel's jaw dropped as he watched Demian shoot forward.
The test had just started, and he was already making a move?
"...Is that guy crazy?"
Apel's gaze was fixed on Demian's back as he charged toward the instructors.
* * *
The enlistment tests, held every quarter, drew a considerable number of participants.
There were five training centers in the capital alone, all dedicated to training soldiers and strengthening the nation's military power.
"How many do you think will pass this time?"
"Well, over two hundred people passed the first practical test. We'll have to cut at least half of them, don't you think?"
"Heh heh, half? Sir, if we really wanted to, I bet we could fail almost all of them."
A rather large instructor chuckled. But the instructor who appeared to be his senior shook his head.
"Don't be too harsh. We need to let the promising ones through. Think of it as passing at least ten."
"Yes, yes. As you command."
The large instructor replied, glancing back over his shoulder.
Unless all those guys worked together and rushed them at once, breaking through their line would be difficult.
This test wasn't just about stamina, after all. Besides…
"Well, they all look about the same. Ten... that won't be easy."
The large instructor said, looking back at his senior.
It was an obvious statement.
They were instructors who had been training here every day for over two years.
Going off the designated track meant disqualification.
Breaking through the wall they created while abiding by that rule was no easy feat.
In fact, the rule against attacking was more for protecting the applicants than anything else.
The large instructor smiled, letting out a huff through his nose.
"They'll probably just trail behind like this until the end, then they'll get desperate and start rushing us when their feet are to the fire."
It was the same every year.
But despite that, less than 50% of the applicants passed the endurance run.
The senior instructor nodded at the large man's words.
"For now, let's just maintain a slow pace. The real test begins in the last ten minutes."
"Yes, sir."
"Yes, sir."
The other instructors responded to their senior's command. And at that moment.
*Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump.*
"...?"
Hearing a sound from behind, the large instructor turned his head to look.
It definitely sounded like something was charging…
"...Huh?"
"What's with that crazy bastard."
The large instructor frowned as the other instructors also looked back.
Some young kid was charging at them like a bull.
The large instructor smirked.
"We've got a spirited one this year."
"...Don't hurt him, just give him a little warning. Let him know that acting out on his own can get him hurt."
"Heh heh, I don't know what'll happen if he runs into my shoulder of steel... but I'll try to be gentle."
He had been wondering how to pass the boring time, and now a kid was charging at them right from the start.
The large instructor chuckled and moved closer to the oncoming applicant. And…
"Kid, if you stand out like that, you'll be disqualified before you even get started. Nothing personal... but you're going to have to back off!"
*Hmph!*
Just as the large instructor slammed his shoulder into the boy…
*Whoosh!*
"...Huh?"
Demian, who had lightly sidestepped to dodge, leaped over the instructors running ahead and said.
"Pardon me."