CCG, Investigator Training Camp.
The sky outside had already been dyed crimson by the setting sun, yet the training camp remained somewhat noisy. Countless young people aiming to become Investigators were busy training here. Normally, aside from a few official Investigators stationed here, other full Investigators rarely visited. Today, however, two individuals clearly not trainees appeared at the camp.
"Amon, I remember your grades at the Academy were quite good, weren't they?"
"Pretty good, I suppose? But, Mado-san, why did you suddenly want to visit this place today?"
Although it hadn't been long since he'd been assigned to his superior, and the two weren't very close yet, Amon felt that due to the man's highly distinctive personality, he wasn't the type who would visit here casually. So, he couldn't help but question him. Mado Kureo, who'd been walking ahead, suddenly stopped and turned back, giving Amon a strange grin.
"Yes, indeed~ Normally, I would never come here. But recently, I found myself a rather promising seedling, so I've come specially to take a look~"
Despite Mado's twisted expression, Amon Koutarou could tell his superior seemed genuinely pleased. This aroused his curiosity, since, in his mind, this superior seemed interested in nothing besides hunting Ghouls. Could someone actually pique this man's interest?
Seeing that Mado had stopped speaking, Amon silently followed behind him. Soon, the two arrived at the training grounds. Amon was intimately familiar with this place—there had been a similar training ground at the Academy where he'd shed sweat daily—but the moment they stepped inside, both men immediately noticed something unusual.
Dozens of young trainees were training together, yet a conspicuously large area to the east had been left empty. There, a single figure stood, training alone.
Amon's instincts immediately told him that this was the person they'd come to see. At that moment, he noticed Mado Kureo beside him had stopped walking, his face lighting up in an unmistakably "excited" expression.
As they moved closer, they saw a figure—not particularly muscular—standing utterly still, left hand pressing against the butt of a spear, right hand supporting its shaft. He stood unmoving, statue-like.
Amon wasn't sure exactly what the young man intended, but Mado beside him seemed deeply fascinated, so he decided to watch more closely as well.
Though the figure didn't move at all, his drenched training uniform indicated clearly that maintaining this stance was anything but easy. The muscles in his arms were visibly tensed, stretched taut like a drawn bowstring. His entire being radiated the aura of a weapon ready to strike.
Just as Amon focused even more intently—
Puh—!
Accompanied by a strange sound, the figure's left hand suddenly thrust forward. His right hand, previously beneath the shaft, flipped at some unknown moment, and in an instant, the target in front of him was pierced through.
"Whew—!"
Exhaling sharply, Lancer couldn't help but smile in satisfaction at the skewered target in front of him. Even without checking his phone, his intuition told him that this strike had certainly upgraded the level of his "Charged Strike."
Clap! clap! clap—!
The sudden applause behind him caught Lancer off guard. He'd been in this training camp for over two months now, practicing this particular move for nearly a month; logically, it shouldn't still earn applause for its novelty, right?
But when he turned and saw the man with the bizarre grin, excitement instantly flashed across his own face.
"Mado-san? What brings you here today?"
"Nothing special. Taniguchi mentioned your recent training results have been impressive, so I decided to drop by and see for myself."
"It's... alright, I suppose…"
Seeing Mado's clearly satisfied expression, Lancer scratched his head a bit bashfully. From his perspective, spending two months just to learn three skills hardly felt like something worth boasting about.
"All right, Lancer, go clean yourself up first. We'll talk more afterward."
Though Lancer had no idea what Mado wanted with him, he nodded immediately upon hearing his savior's words, planning to hit the showers first. But first, he needed to pull the spear out of the target...
"You go on ahead. Amon here will help return the training spear for you."
Lancer paused briefly, then nodded straightforwardly toward Amon Koutarou before heading toward the showers.
Though Amon wasn't sure why his superior had volunteered him, he obediently approached the target to extract the spear. However, when he gripped the shaft and pulled, he froze briefly in surprise, realizing he couldn't pull it out right away.
Feeling it'd be embarrassing to fail in front of his superior, he took a deep breath and tugged.
Crack—!
At the odd sound, Amon stared dumbfoundedly at the dust and debris that scattered everywhere. He had assumed the target was just a normal brick wall, but surprisingly, it wasn't ordinary bricks—it was solid stone blocks inside.
Artificial bricks generally couldn't match natural stone in hardness. Even he wouldn't have been able to pierce it using only a training spear.
Observing Amon's shocked expression, Mado Kureo smiled slightly.
"His name is Lancer, 22 this year, fresh university graduate. Over two months ago, I was on my way to report to HQ when I rescued this ordinary civilian. Honestly, I was truly startled when I first saw him. Want to guess what I saw?"
Amon was momentarily stunned by Mado's question. After glancing at the pierced stone wall next to him, he cautiously made a guess:
"Did he manage to kill a Ghoul?"
"No, just the opposite. At the time, his physical condition was far worse than now—even below that of an average adult. When I found him, he was nearly being eaten alive by a Ghoul. He was covered in blood, yet somehow that Ghoul's stomach was pierced straight through… with a rusted metal mop handle."
There was no need to explain further. Given Amon's knowledge of his superior, there was no way any Ghoul encountered by Mado Kureo would survive. So, did that mean Mado saved the Ghoul's opponent instead? Yet, according to Mado, this rescue happened just two months ago—had this person truly trained himself to such a level in mere months?
"He's practically inhuman…"
After all, to build his current physique, Amon Koutarou himself had to endure rigorous daily training for years.
"Yes indeed~ Initially, the instructor at this training camp even suspected he was a Ghoul, so they ran multiple tests. Of course, the results unquestionably showed 'human.'"
Mado's voice carried a touch of amusement at this point. Since he had personally brought Lancer here, he'd received a special call from that instructor when the suspicion arose.
Just as the two continued chatting, the sound of hurried footsteps approached. Soon after, Lancer, now changed into casual clothes and carrying a backpack, quickly walked toward them.
"Come, let's eat while we chat."
Seeing the refreshed, spirited Lancer, Mado Kureo's mood improved even further.