"Training again today—more training, they say…"
It's been three months since I entered the Sword Sect. Time really flies. It was bitterly cold when I first arrived. Now it's warm—and soon it'll be hot.
"I'm just gonna get pummelled again and again…"
What have I been doing all this time? Climbing the mountain at dawn, drilling my breathing—and getting my ass handed to me.
"One more lap. At this rate, you'll collapse before you even swing your blade."
"Ha… ha… Huff… Sinclair… stay with it…"
"Ugh… I feel like I'm gonna puke… huff…"
Under the guise of building basic stamina, we ran the training ground—no, the parade field—endlessly. As a result, my leg muscles spasm every night and I've screamed myself awake over seven times in recent days.
"From now on, clear your own mess."
"Right. It's time you started doing at least the dishes."
"If it's Moejang saying so, then I suppose we must comply. Let's go, Sinclair."
"Turn on the tap… ah, it's freezing."
"Whoa… effing cold! Damn, that's really cold."
"My hands are going numb… why are you staring?"
"Argh."
"Ah—cold!!! You!!!"
"Uhahaha! How do you like that?"
"I won't let this slide!! Take this!!"
"You amateurs! I told you to do the dishes, and you were playing?"
"You look like drowned rats."
"In this scenario, you're more like baby birds."
At the same time, I was washing dishes to reinforce my position at the very bottom of the hierarchy.
"This is wrong. Oh, and here too."
"Ugh… I thought I had memorized it…"
"After three months, you're doing remarkably well. Don't beat yourself up."
"Then how long did it take you two to memorize the terms in this book?"
"Doesn't it stick after one look?"
"Turns out it takes effort to memorize this stuff. Who would've thought."
"…Damn geniuses. Really get on my nerves."
"Words are a mirror reflecting the speaker. Learn to speak more kindly."
Before I knew it, even Lee Sang had jumped in as an instructor—he volunteered out of boredom—and the training intensified.
"You novices. Today, let's see how well you've come along."
"Hah. I'm confident I won't get hit once today!"
"Me… me too!!! …Probably…"
Still, I definitely improved since I kept taking hits. My breathing's steadier, my body feels lighter. Most importantly, my field of vision has opened. I can focus on a single point at will or take in the entire vista at a glance.
"Oh ho. Now I can call you a swordsman who has truly set foot in the Sword Sect."
"Lee Sang, you use breathing technique too, right?"
"Naturally. In my case, I can see more deeply and more broadly than you. If you keep practicing, you will learn it too."
If Lee Sang says that, the fundamentals must be sound.
"…Ten minutes in. Barely passable."
"Puhaha! See? I told you today would be different!"
"Phew… honestly, I almost slipped in the middle…"
Today, for the first time in three months, while doing breathing drills, I didn't take a corrective punch!!!
"Then, let's move on to the next stage."
"What? Right away?"
"Yes. I'm confident no matter what comes—aside from dueling Moejang."
I still couldn't beat him.
"Next is the thing right behind you."
"Behind us? There's only a wall behind us. A sheer rock face, at that."
"Exactly. Just as you see."
"You're not telling us to climb that rock wall, are you?"
It's a steep cliff, roughly eighteen meters high—maybe more. The top juts out, making it even harder. And they want us to climb that—without protective gear?
"Otis… have we done something wrong? Or are you hoping we'll die?"
"I've fed you to this extent; don't die without giving me my money's worth."
"It's not like sentimental memories… is it just about the cost?"
"In any case, a skilled instructor demonstrates first. Don Quixote?"
"You're the one who should go first!"
She's going to climb that cliff? At around 160 cm tall? Neither Sinclair nor I is going to mention it.
Ugh!Ugh!Ha!
"Uh… is that for real?"
"She's climbing without gripping anything?"
Don Quixote, as if accustomed, found tiny cracks between the rocks and stepped up the cliff. At the final overhang, she just slid her hand over it and pulled herself up.
"So… you're telling us to do that?"
"If you can't, that will be your limit."
"No matter how you look at it, this is impossible! It doesn't make sense!"
"I managed to do it, didn't I!!!!"
Good for you. My eardrums might burst.
"From now on, Don Quixote and I will be going out more often. If you can manage it, do so; if not, stay here and keep training."
"What, no test?"
"In the end, on the battlefield the ones who fight hardest have the highest chance of survival. If you want to live, attempt it; if not, don't."
In other words, they're just telling us to do it.
"Alright! We'll face it head-on! Uoooo!!!"
"W-wait! Really… go with us!"
Somehow I'll accomplish this. I'll become strong enough to live decently in this pre-apocalypse world and carve out a place for myself!
Huff!Tzat!
There's nowhere to place my hands. How did Don Quixote even find footholds here?
"If you're not dead or injured, continue training here. We'll come get you when it's time for dinner."
"Yes? It's still hours until dinner, though."
"Then you can train like mad until then!"
"Do you think that's as easy as it sounds?!"
"Ugh… damn, I can barely get a quarter of the way up…"
"Let me see your hand. It's all scraped and bleeding."
"Don Quixote must be incredibly strong. She climbs like that without breaking for breath."
"I guess so. From what I hear, if there's no group fight like yesterday, they each go off on their own."
"On their own? What do they do then?"
"Well… from what I've picked up, Senior Don Quixote takes on contracts."
"Assignments… I want to earn money with my own strength…"
"You… why do you want to get so strong? Is it really just for money?"
"Hmm… I can't deny that. With money, I won't have to risk my life every day in the back alleys just for a piece of bread."
"So, is there another reason?"
Well… in this Arknights universe, given what I know, my choice is—
"There are things I want to see, a life I want to live—and to live that life, I can't get by with mediocre combat power."
I'm already this far. I have to leave my mark on Rhodes Island.
"I see…"
"Ootcha. Now that we're talking, draw your swords. Let's spar."
"What? At a time like this??"
"Of course. After all, real combat is the best training, isn't it? If we sync our breathing like this, we might even conquer that cliff!"
"Ughh… isn't that a bit too enthusiastic…"
"Then! Let's go!!"
"Phew… right, Sinclair… let's go, we can do it!!"
"Those novices should be showing up about now…"
"If you're so worried, why don't you go look for them yourself?"
"You damn soldier! Who said I was worried?"
"For three hours, you've been staring out the window, eyes fixed on the path down the mountain, reacting to the slightest sound. The first-aid kits have been moved 12 cm forward from their usual placement. These conditions are normally called tension—or worry."
"Isn't it possible that both of them are stuck, having fallen while running, like me?"
"..That possibility can't be ruled out…"
"I reckon Faust believes Baekhyun will crawl down here if that's what it takes."
"I agree. No further remarks are necessary."
"Otis!! Lee Sang!! We're back down!!"
"See? They arrived just in time for dinner."
"Anyway, any injuries… my goodness, what are these cuts?"
"Haha! Well… during sparring I got a little overheated…"
"I apologize…"
"And Sinclair was brutal! Even while getting hit, he kept forcing out counters!"
"I was shouting for you to stop from earlier, you know?!"
"Oh, was I? I don't know. I'm hungry. Let's eat first and think later."
"First we need to treat those wounds. Sit down, you novices!"
If you said I'm like a mother to them… you'd be right…
"Otis! You're just like a mother—!"
"Who's calling me a mother!!"
"Aaagh!! This bandage is way too tight!!"
"Hyun is down! Hyun has collapsed!!"
"How raucous…"
"I like this atmosphere! Don't you enjoy the sense of a party?"
"'Par-ty', huh. Well, it's been a long time since this building was so noisy."
"No one cares? He's not breathing!!"
"I'm… fine…"
At long last, a generation came to the Sword Sect's quarters filled with so many voices.