3. Enlistment (2)
Perhaps because they had been made to roll around so diligently when they first arrived at the training center, there were no more idiots acting foolish.
The moment they let their guard down even slightly, they were made to roll immediately, so whenever training began, they were always in a state of tension.
And did they let them loosen up once training ended?
That wasn't the case either. They were driven relentlessly without a moment's rest under the pretext of maintaining discipline, and the children's expressions gradually soured.
"Square it away!"
"It's crooked. Do it again, brat!"
"Get up! You little shit!"
The reality was that because the instructors came to work them over from the morning, they fell asleep always on edge, and when they woke up, they had to have all their bedding neatly squared away immediately.
This was an important factor that reminded them every single day that this was the army.
But they weren't just pushing them blindly.
The instructors were cunning, and sometimes spurred the children's motivation with the sweet reward of rest.
"If you get past the occupying forces and capture the flag, tomorrow will be a day of rest."
"Uwaaaaah!"
"Kill them!"
"Grab the flag first!"
"If we stop them, we rest tomorrow! Stop them! Stop them no matter what!"
Split into occupying forces and opposing forces to fight over the flag, they honed basic combat instincts while simultaneously improving their understanding of mountainous terrain.
Going through all that training, even Jaiden couldn't help but admire the Northern Army's training system, which was more structured than he had expected.
In some respects, it was even more systematically organized than modern training, and he got the sense that they carefully set the children's limits and adjusted the difficulty accordingly.
"Because the occupying forces captured the flag, trainees belonging to the occupying forces will rest tomorrow."
"Waaaaah!"
"They said we get tomorrow off!"
"I'm gonna sleep all day."
"Me too!"
The children each talked about what they would do tomorrow, smiles spreading across their faces. Jaiden too genuinely rejoiced at the prospect of rest tomorrow and seriously contemplated his schedule.
"Trainee 1223!"
"What?"
"What are you gonna do tomorrow?"
"Well... I haven't decided yet. Maybe I'll play some chess?"
"You know how?"
"Of course."
When Jaiden nodded as if it were only natural, the child beside him spoke up, eyes gleaming.
"Teach me too."
"Me too!"
At those words, children nearby who had overheard approached Jaiden, saying they wanted to play chess too and asking him to teach them.
There were extremely limited things one could do inside the training center.
Amid all that, someone had crudely carved a chessboard and chess pieces out of wood, and they played chess with those.
The instructors knew about the old chess pieces passed down among trainees from generation to generation, but they didn't particularly crack down on them.
Because it was these small things that kept the children from burning out.
The next day, aside from the instructor coming to wake them up early and meal times, there was no interference whatsoever, so Jaiden comfortably rested while teaching chess to his squad members.
'It's a bit of a shame I can't do swordsmanship training.'
In communal living where everyone did things together, he couldn't single himself out to train in swordsmanship, so it was unavoidable.
In fact, for Jaiden, who had reached the 2nd Stage, the training center's regimen wasn't of much help.
Even the occasional intense training that would be grueling for a child's body wasn't particularly difficult for Jaiden, who had awakened his mana.
The instructors probably knew that too, but the reason they didn't separate him and trained everyone like this was to instill a sense of community.
If they gave mana awakeners special treatment from the start, walls could form between trainees, and the mana awakeners could develop a sense of privilege.
That was why they were compelled to perform the same training and the same actions, at least during basic training.
After being run ragged for about a month with military common sense, drill training, and physical training, they trained in night watch and basic night surveillance methods.
'Seeing as there's no camping or forced marches, I suppose this is their way of being considerate?'
Because they were children, they seemed to exclude 30km marches or demanding bivouacs in the mountains, replacing them with as much training as possible on the drill ground.
Of course, that didn't mean it wasn't hard.
They made sure the children got proper sleep and regular meals so they could grow normally, but the training itself was quite demanding.
Perhaps because it was such grueling training for the children, once it was judged that they had all built up a certain level of stamina, physical training gradually tapered off, and they were given a full day of rest.
And the next morning, all the children were ordered to assemble at the drill ground.
When all one thousand-plus trainees gathered at the grand drill ground at once, the field was packed to capacity due to the sheer number.
"Today is the day we determine mana awakening. Those who have awakened their mana, raise your hands and come forward."
They began selecting mana awakeners from among the gathered trainees, numbering roughly a thousand.
Jaiden too raised his hand and stepped forward.
'There aren't even fifty.'
Among nearly 1,500 children, those who had awakened their mana at age nine numbered fewer than fifty.
That showed just how much of a talent awakening mana at a young age was in itself.
Even if one tested for mana talent early and received family support, one typically only awakened mana in their second or third year at the academy.
Even that required luck.
Moreover, since generally only about two in ten people possessed talent for mana, mana awakening itself could only be treated as a talent.
"Follow me."
One of the instructors took the mana awakeners, including Jaiden, into a special building.
"This is where we verify mana awakening. If anyone has lied, I will forgive you even now. Raise your hands honestly."
When still no child raised their hand, the instructor nodded slightly and headed toward the device that detected mana.
"Just go in here."
At the instruction to enter the small glass chamber, the children began entering one by one.
If the mana awakening was false, a red light; if they had awakened but didn't meet the army's standards, a yellow light; if it was a normal mana awakening, a blue light would turn on.
Fortunately, none of the children had a red light come on, but the problem was that yellow lights activated for over a dozen children.
"You don't need to be disappointed just because a yellow light came on. You all have plenty of talent."
The instructor who had encouraged the children spoke to the blue-light trainees, including Jaiden.
"You need additional testing. Follow me."
At the instructor's words, about thirty children followed him past the examination room to a specially prepared training room.
"There are more than I expected."
"Yes. Then please conduct the examination."
"Understood."
After the person who appeared to be a knight and the instructor exchanged respectful greetings and stepped back, the knight lifted a heavy steel sword.
"From now on, you will come out one by one holding that steel sword and fight. The one at the very front, come out."
At the knight's words, the one at the very front came out holding a steel sword modified to fit a child. Then, at the knight's command to attack, he swung with all his might.
The boy swung with unbelievable speed and power for a child, thanks to the swordsmanship he had learned and the physical strength boosted by his mana awakening, but the knight parried it lightly.
"Hah... hah..."
"Good work. Grade Four."
"F-four... how many grades are there?"
"Grade Four."
At the knight's answer, the child hung his head in disappointment. Unbothered by the child's reaction, the knight paid him no mind and called out the next ones one by one.
"Grade Four."
"Grade Three."
"Grade Four."
"Grade Three."
Even as the evaluations continued, everyone only scored Grade Three or Four. But as if this were normal, the knight didn't seem greatly disappointed.
Jaiden was almost last in line. From what he had observed, those who had just awakened their mana were Grade Four, while those who had accumulated some mana and could utilize it even for an instant seemed to be Grade Three.
'Is Grade Two for those who can incorporate swordsmanship? I wonder what Grade One is.'
While watching the children being thoroughly toyed with by a single knight, Jaiden pondered briefly before his turn finally came.
"Attack with all your might."
"Yes."
The knight inwardly marveled when he saw Jayden assume his stance the moment he picked up the iron sword.
Because, at a glance, it looked like a fairly decent stance. On top of that, what the knight wanted to give extra points for was that it was a basic swordsmanship stance.
The ones who had come up until now had each used the swordsmanship of the family they had learned from, or the swordsmanship their masters used, but Jayden’s seemed faithful to the basics.
The reason this could be a plus was that the first swordsmanship they would learn here was basic swordsmanship.
All the trainees he had evaluated would likewise have to cast aside the swordsmanship they had learned until now and learn only basic swordsmanship for a while. When that happened, the one furthest ahead would be Jayden.
“I’m coming in.”
“Come on.”
The instant Jayden heard those words, he charged in with explosive speed.
Kwaaang!
“Hup!”
The knight endured with strength the blow that was more powerful than expected, preventing himself from being pushed back, and shoved him away. Then Jayden, who was pushed back without resisting, flew in this time aiming low.
At the fairly sharp attack, the knight reflexively took a step back, struck it aside, and corrected his stance.
Then Jayden, too, drew up all the mana within his body. Jayden’s physical abilities, which were on the verge of the second stage, had long since surpassed those of an ordinary human.
“Second stage? No… still a little lacking, perhaps? Even so, impressive.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A few spots seemed to be empty, but seeing faint light emerging from them, that too was only a matter of time. Moreover, what made Jayden even more remarkable was that he displayed a seasoned sword path that did not suit his age.
It was clearly a basic sword form, yet the way he applied it and attacked with exquisite timing was the movement of someone who had experienced real combat.
“Now this…”
While he was briefly lost in stray thoughts, the knight saw Jayden once again dig into his blind spot and quickly swung his sword.
Until now, the number of trainees who had made him move his feet could be counted on one hand, but Jayden was going beyond that, displaying a level of skill that was enough to fluster him.
As the knight marveled while watching Jayden press him without pause, a hand signal came from the senior knight beside him, telling him to end it quickly.
Seeing that, the knight pushed Jayden back forcefully and said,
“Enough.”
“Hah… hah…”
When the knight stopped him midway for the first time, Jayden stood in place, panting as he steadied his breath.
“Excellent. Have you been thinking of enlisting in the army since you were young?”
“Yes, sir.”
“A fine attitude. I’ll give you second class. If it were up to me, I’d like to give you first class, but… you’re a little short.”
“That’s all right.”
At Jayden’s answer, the knight nodded as if satisfied and called the next in line.
When Jayden, whom he had expected to be disappointed, went down as if there were no problem, the knight gave high marks to that mindset as well.
He had enough talent that one might expect him to be disappointed at not receiving first class, but in truth, first class was a rank that only true “geniuses”—of whom only a few had ever appeared since the training camp was established—could receive, so not receiving it was normal.
“We’ve caught one good one.”
The knight said that, then told the next trainee to come in and attack.