Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Most training camps follow a routine of repetition.

They spend a month giving recruits basic training before sending them off to their assigned units.

However, this 3rd training camp seemed a bit different.

“I heard there was some friction between platoons. Is everything alright?”

Barus, the commander of the 3rd training camp, had received a report about a recent incident.

Apparently, there had been a minor scuffle between soldiers from different platoons during training.

However, Raymon, the lead instructor standing in front of him, shook his head.

“It was just a minor clash of egos.”

“Is that so? Hmm...”

Barus looked over the list of new recruits.

“Hmm... Are there any promising recruits among the new arrivals?”

“There are a few who show potential. The soldiers currently serving as platoon leaders are all performing well and standing out. But among the recruits, these two in particular have caught my attention.”

Without hesitation, Raymon pointed to Damian and Apel.

There had never been recruits as young as thirteen or fourteen years old who performed as they did.

“...Is there something special about them?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but... it seems they can use magic.”

“...!”

Barus’ eyes widened slightly at this.

Most recruits in training camps are commoners. But commoners who can use magic?

“Do they have any special background?”

“They don’t appear to. In the case of Damian, the platoon leader of the 1st Platoon, his parents recently passed away, and he seems to have joined the military to stand on his own.”

“And what about this one?”

“Same situation. He’s almost too ordinary, which in itself is curious.”

Learning magic techniques requires a tremendous amount of money.

It’s not just about knowing the methods; you also have to learn to sense and control the magic.

For commoners, unless they’re incredibly wealthy, magic is almost like an unknown power.

“Hmm... I see.”

Barus murmured thoughtfully as he stroked his chin. But still, they hadn’t done anything wrong.

“What about the others?”

“The incident earlier stemmed from some soldiers looking down on Damian because he’s the platoon leader of the 1st Platoon. But it seems that this has actually strengthened the bond within the platoon.”

“Haha, is that so?”

Sometimes, being in this position leads to interesting situations, like right now.

Even though everyone enlisted at the same time and are comrades, they perceive each platoon as a separate group just because they’ve been divided into different units.

“The fact that there was friction means that the 1st Platoon must acknowledge their young platoon leader, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Interesting.”

Barus smiled and looked at Raymon.

“In that case, why not increase the intensity of the training for the platoons involved in the incident?”

“Increase the intensity?”

“If they’ve developed such a strong bond, it might be worth testing them.”

“But... wouldn’t that risk backfiring?”

Raymon asked cautiously. But Barus shrugged.

“Well, then it would mean they’re not up to the task.”

“...Understood.”

As Raymon replied, Barus set down the papers he had been looking at.

“If there’s anything unusual, report it to me.”

“Yes, sir. Take care.”

With that, Raymon left the commander’s office.

There was something different about this batch of recruits compared to the others. However... if the training intensity was increased, could they handle it?

“...We’ll have to see.”

It already felt like he could hear them complaining.

* * *

“What do you mean the training is changing all of a sudden?”

“They’re not changing it; they’re adding more.”

“So why are they suddenly adding more training?”

At Kyle’s question, another soldier beside him scratched his head in frustration.

“From what I heard, it’s only us and the 4th Platoon that are getting extra training. It seems like a punishment for that little scuffle we had...”

“What? Are you kidding me? They’re adding more training just because of a few harsh words?”

Kyle frowned and looked over at Damian.

“Damian, is this true?”

“Whether it’s true or not, what are you going to do about it?”

Damian tightened his boot laces and lightly tapped his boots on the ground.

With these cheap boots, he needed to do this to ensure they fit snugly.

Once Damian was ready to go, he looked at Kyle and the other soldiers.

“So, what’s the extra training?”

“Apparently, it’s crawling...”

“Crawling? Are you kidding me? In this rough terrain?”

“What kind of crawling? This sucks.”

The training grounds at the 3rd Training Camp were mostly made up of sand and gravel.

Crawling on that kind of ground would shred your elbows and knees.

Damian nodded, understanding their frustration. But...

‘Crawling, huh...’

If this were a punishment, they would normally add physically demanding exercises like strength or endurance training.

But crawling?

It seemed like someone had given the order with a specific intent in mind, though it was hard to say for sure.

Damian looked at the platoon members and spoke.

“So what’s the problem?”

“I mean, it doesn’t make sense to add more training just because of a little argument, does it?”

“But the 4th Platoon is getting it too, right?”

“Yeah, but no one else is.”

“Well, that’s because the problem was only between us and the 4th Platoon.”

Kyle pounded his chest in frustration, knowing Damian was right, but that wasn’t the point.

Damian, looking at Kyle and the other platoon members, asked them a question.

“Did you come here to slack off?”

“...?”

“Crawling training will be tough, that’s true. But on the other hand, if you perform well, it’s a chance to get ahead of the others.”

Crawling is an essential skill for soldiers.

In critical situations, proper crawling can save your life multiple times.

The platoon members fell silent at Damian’s words.

If anyone else had said something like that, there might have been some backlash...

‘Even a kid this young is thinking this way...’

‘Why does it feel like I’m talking to my uncle...?’

‘If I get angry here, it means I’m less mature than a thirteen-year-old.’

Everyone silently agreed with Damian’s words.

Seeing this, Damian chuckled softly but kept a composed expression as he spoke.

“The training might be tough since it’s something new, but if we prepare well, we can get through it. I’ll help you all, so let’s do our best.”

“...Did everyone hear that?”

Kyle glanced around at the others. In response...

“Well, I was planning on doing it anyway.”

“Me too. Crawling? No problem.”

“Uh... but I’ve heard that the crawling training at the 3rd camp is no joke. They say your skin gets scraped off after just one round.”

Some of the others expressed their worries.

Kyle then looked at Damian and asked.

“Surely they’re not going to make us crawl on this bare ground, right?”

“You think they’ll lay out soft blankets for us? If they tell us to crawl, we crawl.”

“You talk like you’ve done this a lot.”

I’ve done it a lot.

I’ve done it countless times.

There were countless moments when I had no choice but to flatten myself to the ground and crawl to survive.

Of course, adding crawling to the training doesn’t just mean they’re trying to overwhelm us with more exercises.

It’s about how we handle the stress that comes with this kind of training.

‘I remember... it caused quite an uproar before.’

After crawling for three or four hours, you’d end up with injuries that bleed quite a bit.

And when you’re nursing those wounds while going through other training, the stress becomes too much for the recruits to handle.

The platoon’s atmosphere would quickly turn sour, with guys snapping over the smallest things.

It’s only natural.

When your body is exhausted and your wounds keep hurting, even minor things can make you angry.

‘I can see their intention, but I won’t let them succeed.’

Damian looked at the platoon members and spoke.

“Everyone, take out the socks you got in your supplies.”

“...?”

Why is he telling us to take out our socks all of a sudden?

As the platoon members looked at him in confusion, Damian grinned and said,

“I’m going to show you some magic.”

* * *

Nielsen, the instructor in charge of crawling training, hurriedly prepared after receiving a sudden order.

Crawling is usually done in the final week of training, but now, on the third day of the second week, they were adding it.

“What are they thinking?”

It was a bit puzzling, but what could he do?

Orders are orders.

Nielsen watched the recruits entering the training ground under the platoon leader’s command.

Judging by their faces, they were clearly tired from the earlier shield and spear training. But...

‘Their eyes still look sharp.’

Apparently, unlike the 4th Platoon, which complained to the officers when they heard about the additional training, the 1st Platoon accepted it without a fuss.

It was an admirable attitude, but...

‘I can’t go easy on them.’

Nielsen glanced at the crawling training area.

The ground was covered with sand grains and fairly large pebbles.

If they thought they just had to crawl, they were in for a rude awakening.

“Nice to meet you all, I’m Nielsen. Today’s final training will be on low crawling.”

Nielsen demonstrated the low crawl in an open space.

Since they couldn’t drop their weapons, the hand holding the spear was kept close to their side, making the spear align with their body, while the opposite hand and knee were used to move quickly.

The 1st Platoon soldiers, impressed by the instructor’s demonstration, murmured in admiration.

Seeing their enthusiastic reactions, Nielsen stood up and smiled at them.

“First, we’ll practice the posture for a bit, and then we’ll finish the training by passing through this obstacle course.”

“Yes, sir!”

Nielsen nodded approvingly at the soldiers’ brisk movements.

As they learned the low crawl, Nielsen walked around, correcting their postures.

Once the practice was over, the platoon members lined up in front of the obstacle course.

Now the real challenge began.

“Alright, now you’ll quickly navigate through the obstacles. If the group in front slows down, the one behind will get stuck, so move swiftly!”

Most recruits struggle when it comes to real training, even after practice.

The uneven ground makes crawling more painful than difficult.

‘But they have to overcome even that.’

Nielsen glanced at the 1st Platoon members standing in front of the obstacles. But then...

“...”

Was it just his imagination?

Why did they seem so... relaxed?

‘...What’s going on?’

There was something odd about the situation. Some of them even had faint smiles on their faces, unlike most recruits.

It felt strange, but...

“Group 1, quickly enter the obstacle course, go!”

Nielsen shouted loudly, and the recruits entered the low obstacle area.

“Haaaah!”

“Yaaah!”

With fierce determination, the recruits began their low crawl, and Nielsen’s lips curled into a smile.

‘Of course.’

This would likely be an unfamiliar and painful experience for them.

They might start off strong, but soon the pain would...

“...Huh?”

“Yaaah!”

“Haaaah!”

The recruits continued to shout as they crawled at an unbelievable speed.

Seeing them not slow down, Nielsen’s eyes widened in shock.

“W-what the...?!”

“Instructor! When can Group 2 start?”

“Uh, uh? G-Group 2, go!”

He was so taken aback that he nearly forgot to give the next order.

But Group 2 was no different.

“Haaaah!”

“Yaaah!”

Like hungry berserkers, they crawled forward with spears in hand, and Nielsen could only watch in stunned silence.

And when the training was finally over...

“Phew! It’s over!”

“We’re home!”

The 1st Platoon members flopped down as soon as they entered the barracks, cheering. But soon...

“Hehe, Damian. That was genius.”

“I had to pretend to be in pain. It was tough.”

“There was still some pain, but... this was way better than nothing.”

They chuckled as they started pulling something out from inside their uniforms.

In their hands were...

“Who knew you could cut up socks to make elbow and knee pads?”

At this, the platoon members couldn’t help but burst into laughter.