It was by chance that the guy caught his eye.
‘I, I think I'm going to die……!’
Six years had already passed since he was dragged to this nameless place, but he still had not adapted.
Training that drove him to the very limit of his mental strength, day after day.
Whenever he began to adapt, training of even greater intensity would follow.
If not for proper meals and the breaks given now and then during training, he might have gone mad.
But…….
“…….”
Harganto's gaze lingered on a boy.
Idiot Theron.
It was a nickname given because he was small and could not do anything particularly well.
But at some point, the guy had changed.
The way he endured steadfastly without a single complaint, even through that grueling training.
He even stayed in the training ground the longest after training, doing who knew what.
‘But…….’
Was it only because of that?
He did not know why, but Harganto was able to look coolly at the situation unfolding before his eyes.
“If we don't make the top three and my arms get cut off, I promise on everything I have. I'll kill every one of you. So before that, either kill me here…… or follow me.”
A blunt threat.
Theron had charged head-on at every trainee here.
The guy, whose build and presence were different from before.
Harganto felt himself strangely drawn to him.
That was why he had decided to follow him.
“I, Harganto, follow Theron. Of course, I still have my doubts. But thanks to this guy, one thing has become certain.”
Not only the training he received in this hellish place, but the instructors' beatings on top of it made him want to die day after day.
In fact, there were a few who had taken their own lives.
But the disappearance of that alone made him want to place a bet on the guy.
And as a result.
“I'll…… follow too.”
“I'll follow as well.”
“Me too.”
Every trainee in Section 5 began to follow Theron.
Even Falcot and Valk, who had been beaten by him.
And after that day, the atmosphere of the training ground changed.
“Roan. Hold on a bit longer. Struggling now is way better than getting beaten by the instructors later, isn't it?”
“Huh? Ah, uh-huh.”
At Theron's words, Roan, who had slumped down, put strength into his shaking legs and bit his lip hard.
Roan took the horse-riding stance again, slowly lifted one foot, and found his balance.
At his wobbling, Theron lightly held his arm and said.
“Your balance is collapsing to this side. Consciously put strength on this side.”
“Huh……? It works! It works!”
At Theron's words, Roan shouted in amazement.
Because with a single piece of advice from Theron, a movement that had never worked until now had worked.
At that, Theron said.
“Your left-right balance isn't good. From now on, it'd be good to focus on training that balances your body.”
“Th, thanks!”
Besides that, Theron watched the trainees train and advised them on what they lacked.
Strangely, things that had never worked until now were falling into place with ghostly precision.
And at the sight.
“……How come he seems more like an instructor?”
“It's like he's not even the same kind of trainee as us.”
At Perka's question, Tioren nodded and said.
The first test.
After going into the Shadow Forest and coming out, it felt as though he was on a completely different level from everyone else.
But what was more remarkable.
“Hey, Theron. Aren't you coming?”
“I'll stay a little longer. Go on ahead.”
The sight of him staying behind alone to train again even after training was over made the other trainees click their tongues in amazement.
But this day, something was different.
Roan, who had been heading to the dormitory, seemed to hesitate, then cautiously approached Theron.
“……Theron.”
“What?”
“Could I…… train with you too?”
“……?!”
“What?”
It was the other trainees around them who were surprised by Roan's words.
They could barely keep themselves upright, and he wanted to train more, here, now?
But at Roan's words, Theron gave a small smile.
“Of course. I'll teach you some training that helps with balance. Let's do it together.”
“Thanks!”
Roan, grinning broadly, came over to Theron's side.
At the sight, the other trainees seemed a little hesitant, but.
“Aw, shit, what extra training? I'm about to croak…….”
“I can't. What we did today was already too much.”
Falcot and his group frowned slightly and turned away.
They had submitted, but they did not think this hellish place would change.
But it was changing.
The training camp of Hell Island.
Section 5 was.
A month had already passed since Theron made his absurd declaration.
The Chief Instructor of Hell Island.
Berton, receiving reports about the recently changed Section 5, summoned Bengle.
“I hear you made an interesting bet?”
“……That is so.”
He had never seen a trainee who dared to propose a bet to an instructor.
Because to them, instructors were nothing but objects of fear.
Beating and trampling the trainees, driving them ever more harshly, was the way of this place.
However, for the past month, such instructors had not been seen in Section 5.
The reports said that at some point, there were even trainees doing extra training after this hard training, or even smiling.
“Of course, the training method is not my concern. However you train them, all that matters is that the results come out well.”
Berton put down the book he had been reading and raised his gaze.
The moment Bengle's gaze met Berton's, he felt as if he could not breathe.
Like a frog before a snake.
He could do nothing before the absolute power of a predator.
Berton looked at the frozen Bengle and said.
“However, I trust you will not cross the line out of greed, Instructor in Charge Bengle.”
“O, of course.”
“The assignment for the next test will be coming soon. I hope for good results.”
“……Thank you.”
Bengle bowed his head and soon slipped out of Berton's office.
“Hoo…….”
In that moment, the brat's face came to mind.
Theron, who had provoked him into making an absurd bet.
‘But…….’
This past month.
So much had changed in Section 5 that even he, its Instructor in Charge, had to call it tremendous.
Even after finishing this hard training, the trainees stayed in the training ground and kept training.
Of course, at the center of it was Theron.
‘What on earth…….’
Was the club not the best thing for taming disobedient brats?
But seeing the changes in the Section 5 trainees lately, Bengle felt the values he had held until now beginning to waver, bit by bit.
‘Maybe…….’
Bengle shook his head.
No, if working hard for a mere month could change things, who would not do it?
Section 5 had stayed at the bottom in every metric until now.
That was why he had pushed them, beaten them, and whipped them all the more…….
The steps back to his office.
Bengle's mind grew intricately tangled.
***
The second test had been decided.
The type of test was always decided by Chief Instructor Berton, but one could not help wondering whether, this time, he had been somewhat conscious of things.
“……Of all tests, this one, this time.”
Bengle muttered in a low voice after seeing the type of test.
The so-called Token Defense.
All one had to do was go into a huge forest and guard the token one held for a designated period of time.
In a way, it was far lower in difficulty than gathering Moltir Flowers in the first test.
The only threat the forest itself posed to the trainees was beasts.
As long as one avoided them well, there was no chance of losing the token.
However, the real problem with this test was not that.
“Unlucky bastard.”
In the Token Defense test format, the trainees of as many as five sections all took part together.
So to get high marks, they had to take the tokens held by the trainees of other sections.
In the end, the team with the highest score from its own tokens plus the ones it had taken would win.
One's own token was worth 3 points.
A token taken from others was worth 1 point.
It was a test where competition could not be avoided no matter what.
And…….
“Of all things, being grouped with Section 3…….”
Section 3 held the top marks among all the sections on Hell Island, with overwhelming skill.
Naturally, it had also taken first place in the previous Shadow Forest test of gathering Moltir Flowers.
It was also the section with the fewest casualties.
Moreover, the other instructors could not be unaware of what had happened in Section 5 recently.
They would surely tell their trainees and stir up the competition even more.
‘It seems it was a vain hope.’
He had still held on to a faint maybe, but Bengle quickly let it go.
Was being disappointed after hoping not always something familiar?
He only pitied the brat whose arms would be cut off.
Bengle simply looked at the paper in his hand with a bitter expression.
***
All the trainees of Section 5 gathered in one place.
It was to hear the announcement regarding the second test.
But…….
“……Token Defense?”
Hearing the type of test, Theron narrowed his eyes and muttered.
The test he knew had originally been a test of climbing rock walls.
But the type of test having changed meant…….
‘Should I take it that it's because of what I did…….’
An outrageous proposal.
That statement he had spat out about raising Section 5 from the very bottom into the top three.
But the words of Bengle, the Instructor in Charge, did not end there.
“And unfortunately, among those assigned to our group is Section 3.”
“Hh, hngh!”
“Those Section 3 bastards?”
The other trainees all looked surprised.
Because everyone knew that Section 3 always took high evaluations with overwhelming skill.
So much so that even Section 3's instructors supposedly did not lay a hand on them much.
And moreover, there was the monster who ruled Section 3.
“……We won't run into them, right?”
“They said it's a competition. How could we not?”
“No, we could each just grab our tokens and go.”
“……Yeah, fucking right.”
A shadow fell over the trainees' expressions.
And the ones who looked most worried were Theron's roommates.
Perka, Renil, and Tioren.
Perka said.
“Theron, can we make the top three?”
“Fuck…… why'd we have to get tangled up with those Section 3 bastards of all people? No, more importantly, how can they make us compete against other sections' bastards in a test?”
Renil spat out curses and scowled.
If they failed to make the top three in this test, would Theron's arms not be cut off?
But despite the worry of the comrades around him, Theron's expression was calm.
It was puzzling that the type of test had suddenly changed, but.
‘This decision must have been made by Berton, the Chief Instructor…….’
He knew that Berton was watching him closely.
He simply had not thought Berton would change the type of test like this to test something.
But none of that mattered.
Section 3.
It was true that their skill was overwhelming compared to the trainees of any other section on Hell Island.
And the one who ruled it.
‘……Isaac.’
The past life.
One of the few who had followed him most loyally, someone he could entrust his back to.
Last time, when they took the Death Sigil, he had been too flustered to get a proper look, but…….
HEH.
Thinking of the guy, a smile formed on his lips before he knew it.
Of course, as for this test.
He could not deny that having to compete with the Section 3 trainees was a troublesome situation, but.
More than that, if it was Isaac…….
“It's fine. We can definitely do it. No…….”
Perhaps…….
“I think we might even take first place.”
“……What?”
The others could only look at him in surprise at Theron's words.
Tab 14