Arthur stepped forward and addressed everyone.
"I'm your acting Captain, not to give you a break, but to push you harder. In fact, you might end up fearing me… even hating me. Because I will make your training more intense, more exhausting. But remember your effort now will pay off. Before I leave, I'll hold a final exam. Two people from each class will be selected to join me in the Reconnaissance Company to gain real-life experience."
The moment he finished speaking, the recruits erupted with excitement.
The Reconnaissance Company!
That was the dream for almost every soldier there!
To have a chance to go to the Reconnaissance Company? It felt unreal.
Class Three was especially thrilled they all realized that this must be the "mysterious opportunity" their squad leader had hinted at!
Hedy suddenly understood, but unlike the others, she remained calm. She wasn't excited, she immediately considered how difficult this would be.
Two people per class meaning everyone else was a competitor.
Her gaze swept across the classroom and accidentally locked eyes with Susan.
Susan was still smiling with confidence. Unlike Hedy, she knew she had little competition in their class. She shot Hedy a look that seemed to say: You think you belong in the Reconnaissance Company?
Hedy returned her glare with cold determination: Just wait and see.
After the excitement settled down, training officially began.
And Arthur quickly proved he wasn't bluffing. After one grueling physical training session, no one cared about how handsome he was anymore.
This captain was ruthless!
Pleading and complaining none of the usual tricks the recruits relied on worked on him.
"My god! He's like the king of Hades!" someone cried out.
At dinner, everyone's faces were pale with exhaustion. They could barely lift their spoons.
Chloe didn't hold back, giving Arthur a nickname on the spot. She groaned to Hedy, "Why does someone that good-looking have to be so evil? Should we give him a nickname before the old Captain comes back? He's going to work us to death!"
Hedy gave a bitter smile. Physical strength was her weakness, and today had been especially hard on her. But she also knew Arthur's methods weren't truly cruel the recruits were just used to taking things easy.
Still, she wasn't made of steel. The next morning, she woke up aching all over.
Everyone else was still fast asleep. Chloe was snoring with her limbs sprawled out. Hedy quietly slipped out.
The soft click of the door woke Susan, who hadn't been sleeping deeply.
She turned over and saw Hedy's empty bed. For a moment, she considered getting up for extra training but her sore muscles screamed in protest.
"Psycho," Susan muttered under her breath and gave up on the idea.
Normal training was hard enough. She didn't believe Hedy could keep this up.
Susan wasn't the only one who thought Hedy was crazy so did Arthur, who ran into her during his own morning workout.
He hadn't expected that after yesterday's brutal session, Hedy would still get up early to train on her own.
She'd looked like she was barely holding it together during the previous day!
What was up with this girl?
Arthur jogged over and grabbed her arm to stop her.
"What are you doing?" Hedy snapped, confused and stung from his grip.
"Aren't you tired?" he asked, frowning.
"Of course I'm tired!" she shook off his hand and shot him a glare.
"Then why aren't you resting?"
"Rest?" Hedy gave a dry laugh and shook her head. If she let herself sleep like the others, she'd never reach the level of a top killer again never get her revenge.
If you want to be better than others, you have to work harder than them.
She'd trained before real training. The kind that broke you over and over. Compared to that, a little exhaustion was nothing.
Arthur didn't understand. And she wasn't going to explain it to him.
"Don't worry about me," she muttered, brushing past him and continuing to run.
Arthur stood there, eyebrows tightly drawn.
He had seen ambition before. And he knew the danger of pushing too hard, too fast.
Before Hedy ended up with a tragic outcome, he had to stop her.
He needed her to hit a wall and soon.
So he built one.
"Competition is the root of progress," Arthur announced. "From now on, every event will be recorded. The person with the lowest score will be punished with additional training."
Silence.
No one objected.
Because deep down, they all knew who the weakest was in physical training.
Hedy.
With her at the bottom, they had nothing to worry about.
Hedy clenched her jaw and glared at Arthur, who looked right back at her.
She didn't know what she'd done to provoke this stern 'King of Hades,' but it was clear he was targeting her.
The day's training began: 100-meter sprints, 5,000-meter endurance runs, push-ups, sit-ups, single bars, parallel bars…
By the time they finished, the sun was setting.
The squad leaders gathered to tally the results. When they finished, the second squad leader chuckled.
"Looks like our acting Captain misjudged things. With Class Three stuck at the bottom, no one else feels the need to compete. My squad was way more relaxed than yesterday!"
He was, of course, referring to Hedy.
The third squad leader stared at the numbers in disbelief, Hedy had placed last in everything.
Shocking.
The second squad leader's teasing left him speechless. Frustrated, he returned to his squad and glanced at Hedy but his anger faded quickly.
To be fair, she had worked hard.
Still, his expression said it all.
Susan smirked and whispered to those nearby, "Embarrassing results like this? Our class owns them."
No one responded. They just looked silently at Hedy.
Hedy sighed. What else could she do?
She stepped forward and said quietly, "I'll report to the acting Captain myself."
The squad leader nodded and led her to Arthur.
Arthur looked at the results and said coldly, "Since you ranked last in everything let's begin."
Hedy shot him a fierce glare but didn't argue. She silently walked to the starting line and launched herself into a full-speed sprint.