The Immortal Genius Spear knight (12)
Most training camps are just a repetition of the same routines.
They spend a month training recruits with basic exercises before sending them off to the main base.
But this time, the 3rd Training Camp seemed a bit different.
“I heard there was some friction between the squads. Is there any problem with that?”
Barus, the company commander of the 3rd Training Camp, received a report about a recent incident.
It was a minor scuffle between soldiers from different squads during training.
However, Raymond, the chief instructor standing in front of him, shook his head.
“It was just a little show of bravado.”
“Is that so? Hmm…”
Barus mused as he looked over the list of new recruits.
“Hmm… Are there any promising ones among this batch?”
“There are a few who show quite a bit of potential. The squad leaders, in particular, are excelling in their training… but these two recruits stand out the most.”
Without hesitation, Raymond pointed to Damian and Apel.
There had never been recruits who performed like this at just thirteen and fourteen years old.
“…Is there something special about them?”
“I’m not entirely sure, but… it seems they can use magic.”
At these words, Barus’s eyes showed a slight reaction.
Most of the people who enlist in the training camps are commoners.
And yet, these commoners could use magic?
“Do they have some kind of powerful backing?”
“They don’t seem to. In the case of Damian, the squad leader of the 1st Squad, his parents passed away recently, so it appears he enlisted to make a living on his own.”
“And what about this one?”
“It’s the same. Though, it’s actually surprising how ordinary he is, which makes it all the more puzzling.”
Learning magic techniques requires an enormous amount of money.
It’s not just about knowing the method of magic training; one also has to learn how to feel and manipulate mana.
For commoners, unless they are extremely wealthy, magic is practically an unknown force.
“Hmm… I see.”
Barus muttered under his breath, stroking his chin. But, after all, they hadn’t done anything wrong.
“What about the others?”
“Regarding the recent scuffle, it was actually because Damian, the squad leader of the 1st Squad, was being looked down on by the other squad members. But rather than causing division, it seems to have strengthened the unity within the squad.”
“Haha, is that so?” Sometimes, interesting things happen in this position. Just like now. Despite everyone enlisting together, some groups naturally see themselves as separate from others.
“The fact that there was friction means that the 1st Squad recognizes their young squad leader, doesn’t it?”
“That’s correct.”
“How interesting.”
Barus smiled and then looked at Raymond.
“In that case, why don’t we increase the intensity of the training for the squads involved in this scuffle?”
“Increase the intensity?”
“If they have that much cohesion, it might be worth it.”
“But couldn’t that have the opposite effect?”
Raymond asked cautiously, but Barus just shrugged.
“Then it would mean they weren’t worth much, to begin with.”
“…Understood.”
When Raymond replied, Barus dropped the documents he was holding and said,
“Report back if there’s anything unusual.”
“Yes, sir. Rest well.”
With that, Raymond left the company commander’s office.
This batch of recruits definitely felt different from the others. But… would they be able to handle the increased training intensity when they were already struggling?
“…Well, it can’t be helped.”
He could almost hear the recruits starting to complain already.
***
“Why are they suddenly adding new training?”
“They’re not changing it, just adding more.”
“So why are they suddenly adding more training?” a soldier next to Kyle asked, scratching his head with a frustrated expression.
“Well, from what I heard, only our squad and the 4th squad are getting extra training. It might be a punishment for that scuffle we had last time…”
“What? Damn, they’re adding training just because we exchanged a few curses?” Kyle frowned and looked over at Damian.
“Damian, is this true?”
“Whether it is or isn’t, what can you do about it?”
Damian tightly tied his military boots and lightly tapped them on the ground.
With these cheap boots, doing this made him feel like they were properly secured. After finishing his preparations, Damian looked at Camille and the other squad members and asked,
“What kind of additional training is it?”
“I heard it’s crawling…”
“Crawling? Damn, they’re making us crawl on this crappy ground?”
“Crawling, huh? How annoying.”
The training grounds of the 3rd Training Camp were mostly made up of sand and gravel.
If they were to crawl on this kind of surface, their elbows and knees would get completely scraped up.
Damian nodded in understanding. However…
“Crawling, huh…”
If this was meant as a punishment, they would have usually added physically demanding or endurance-based training.
But crawling?
It seemed like someone had a specific intention behind this order, but he couldn’t be sure.
Still, Damian looked at his squad members and said,
“So what’s the problem?”
“Well, it doesn’t make sense that they’re adding extra training just because of a minor scuffle.”
“The 4th squad is getting extra training too, right?”
“Yeah, but no other squads are.”
“That’s because we and the 4th squad were the only ones who caused trouble.”
Kyle pounded his chest in frustration at Damian’s words.
Damian was right, but that wasn’t really the point right now.
However, Damian looked at Kyle and the other squad members and asked,
“Did you come here to play?”
“Sure, the extra crawling training will be tough. But on the flip side, it’s an opportunity to get ahead of the others if we do well.”
For soldiers, crawling is a fundamental skill that they must master.
In emergencies, proper crawling could save their lives multiple times over.
At Damian’s words, the squad members fell silent.
If anyone else had said something like this, they might have resisted, but…
‘Even a kid like him thinks this way…’
‘Why does it feel like I’m talking to my uncle?’
‘If I get worked up now, I’m no better than a thirteen-year-old.’
Everyone shut their mouths and agreed with Damian.
Seeing this, Damian almost burst into laughter but maintained a composed expression and said,
“It might be hard since it’s the first time we’re doing this training… but as long as we prepare well, we can get through it. I’ll help, so let’s all give it our best.”
“You all heard that, right?”
Kyle glanced at the others as he spoke. To which they responded:
“Well, I was just going to do it anyway.”
“Yeah, crawling? That’s no big deal.”
“Ah… But I’ve heard that the crawling training at the 3rd Training Camp is no joke. I heard your skin gets completely torn up after just one session.”
Some of the others were still worried.
Kyle then looked at Damian and asked,
“But they’re not seriously going to make us crawl on this bare ground, right?”
“What, do you think they’ll lay out soft blankets for us? If they say crawl, you crawl.”
“You talk like you’ve done this a lot.”
I’ve done it a lot. A hell of a lot.
There were countless times when I had no choice but to crawl flat on the ground just to survive.
Of course, adding crawling to the training doesn’t just mean they’re trying to physically wear us out.
It’s about how we handle the stress that comes from this type of training.
“There was definitely a huge uproar back then too…”
After about three to four hours of crawling, the abrasions would start to bleed quite a bit.
And when the trainees then had to participate in other training with those wounds, the stress was unbearable.
It was common for the squad’s mood to quickly turn gloomy, with members snapping at each other over the smallest things.
It was only natural.
When your body is exhausted and in pain from wounds, even minor things can irritate you.
‘I can’t let them get away with such an obvious tactic.’
Damian looked at his squad members and said,
“Everyone, take out the socks you got from the supply.”
“?”
Why is he suddenly asking us to take out our socks?
Seeing the confused faces of the squad members, Damian said,
“I’ll show you some magic.”
Nielson, the instructor in charge of crawling training, received an urgent call and hurriedly prepared for the training.
Crawling is usually done during the final week of training, in the fourth week. But now, in just the second week, they were adding it on the third day?
What are they thinking?
It was a bit puzzling, but well, if they say crawl, then they’ll have to crawl.
Nielson watched as the recruits, led by their squad leader, entered the training grounds.
It seemed that the previous shield and spear techniques training had been quite exhausting, as evident by the fatigue on their faces. However…
“They’ve still got some spirit left in them.”
Rumor had it that, unlike the 4th Squad, which had complained to the officers about the additional training, the 1st Squad had accepted it without much fuss.
It was an admirable stance, but…
“Still, I can’t go easy on them.”
Nielsen looked over the crawling training ground.
The ground was covered with everything from small grains of sand to rather large pebbles.
If they thought they could just crawl across, they were in for a rough time.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Nielsen. Today’s final training will be about low crawling.”
Nielsen lay down in an open space to demonstrate the low crawl technique.
Since you can’t drop your weapon, you keep the hand holding the spear close to your side so the spear stays straight, and you use your other hand and knees to move quickly.
The soldiers of the 1st Squad were impressed by the instructor’s skilled demonstration.
Amused by their reactions, Nielsen stood up and flashed a grin at them.
“First, we’ll practice the stance a bit, and then we’ll end the training by passing through the obstacle course.”
“Yes, sir!”
Nielsen nodded approvingly at the soldiers who were moving quickly.
As they practiced the low crawl, Nielsen moved around, correcting the soldiers’ postures.
When the practice was over, the squad members stood before the obstacle course.
Now the real test was about to begin.
“Okay, from now on, you need to clear the obstacle quickly. If the team in front slows down, the one behind will get stuck, so make sure to get out fast!”
In real situations, unlike in practice, most people stumble.
It’s only natural, as crawling on uneven ground is more painful than difficult.
“But they have to overcome even that.”
Nielsen looked at the 1st Squad soldiers standing before the obstacle course.
Was it just his imagination?
Why… did they seem so oddly confident?
He couldn’t understand why, but some of them were even smirking slightly, unlike typical trainees.
Something felt off, but…
“Team 1, start clearing the obstacle! Now!”
Nielsen shouted loudly, and with that, the trainees began entering the low obstacle course.
“Hyahhhh!”
“Urahhhhhh!”
Hearing the rough shouts and watching the trainees start crawling, Nielsen smirked.
“Just as I thought.”
They might start strong, but soon they’d be overwhelmed by pain.
“Urahhhhhh!”
“Hyahhhh!”
The shouts continued, and the trainees were crawling at a crazy speed.
Seeing the unbelievable situation where their speed didn’t decrease, Nielsen’s eyes widened in shock.
“Wha- What the…?!”
“Instructor! When does Team 2 start?”
“Oh, uh, 2- Team 2, go!”
He was so taken aback that he forgot to give the order.
But Team 2 was no different.
“Hyahhhh!”
“Urahhhhh!”
Watching the trainees crawl like starving berserkers while holding their spears, Nielsen could only stare in astonishment.
And when the training was over…
“Whew! It’s over!”
“Home sweet home!”
The soldiers of the 1st Squad collapsed onto their bunks, shouting. But soon…
“Hehe, Damian, that was amazing, right?”
“I had to pretend it hurt. That was tough.”
“It did hurt a little… but it was way better than having nothing.”
The soldiers, grinning mischievously, began pulling something out from inside their uniforms.
And what they pulled out…
“Man, who would’ve thought to cut up socks and make elbow and knee pads?”
With that, the squad members burst out laughing.
