Day 896 - June 18, 2032, 13:18
Simulation Room.
“Crane!” Taeseok (Bear) yelled as he lifted the ground underneath the Illusion Soldiers.
“On it!” Yerin (Crane) raised her hands and froze the 20 Illusion Soldiers in front of her.
“Viper!”
Click. BAM!
The frozen enemies were broken into pieces by Seohwa’s (Viper) whipsword.
“Where the heck is Monkey?!” Taeseok yelled.
“Coming to you!” Hwayeon (Tigress) positioned herself as she used her fire boost to increase Jiho’s (Monkey) speed.
“YEAAAH!” Jiho screamed with exhilaration as he flew over the swarms of Illusion soldiers as he smashed his pole in the middle and caused a huge discharge of lightning.
Taeseok ordered, “Mantis! I need a stamina boost!”
Minggu (Mantis) growed vines around Taeseok as it pumped stamina.
Taeseok pulled about 200 soldiers closer as he signalled Seohwa.
Seohwa used her wind and gathered all of them in one spot as Yerin blasted an Absolute Zero to 100 of them while Hwayeon blasted a Fire Torrent to the other 100.
“HELP!” Jiho screamed.
Taeseok sighed as he commanded, “Viper, if you will?”
“Right away.” Seohwa leaped in the air and used wind steps to increase her speed and headed towards Jiho.
As she fell in the air, she dragged her left hand into her chest as an Earth Wall pulled up to block the soldiers from coming closer to Jiho, while Jiho annihilated the small group that was attacking him with a Lightning Current.
Seohwa softened her landing with wind as she used her whipsword to remove the soldiers trying to climb the Earth Wall.
Jiho jumped up and smirked, “Thanks.”
“Anytime.” Seohwa smiled as they began to hold the fortress until everyone else got there.
Taeseok commanded, “Ok, Crane and Monkey go to the centre and grab the flag while everyone holds the fortress down.”
Everyone nodded.
It was a long battle of attrition.
***
In the Observatory Room.
Rhino sighed, “Wrong move, Bear.”
Goldie chuckled, “Oh he wouldn’t have known that there are another 2000 soldiers in the fortress.”
“You guys are quite cruel for sending them to the highest difficulty simulation before they graduate.” Hawk sympathised with the Furies, “We could only go 30 minutes in without even reaching the building and got eliminated.”
“… Considering that, they’re only 20 minutes in and have reached the building.” Goldie complimented.
***
Taeseok grumbled as he continuously swung his greatsword while panting, “Is it just me or are they never ending?”
Hwayeon sighed as she was being healed by Minggu. Seohwa covered her spot as she nodded, “The mentors said there were only 1000 soldiers at the forefront but what if it was a trick? They didn’t say how many enemies are in the fortress itself.”
Taeseok chuckled, weary, “If that’s true, then we’re screwed.”
Seohwa paused as she observed her weary squad, “Let me handle it. You guys rest. We’ll swap once I’m completely empty.”
“What? That’s suicide!” Hwayeon rejected.
“Stay safe then.” Taeseok yawned as he went back, pulling Hwayeon and Minggu to safety.
Somehow, the fact he was so easy going made Seohwa relieved.
Seohwa jumped down from the fortress as she used her whipsword to cut down the enemies and create multiple split craters in the ground, trapping the enemies.
She excreted some poison onto her whipblade so even if an enemy touched her whipsword, they got instantly poisoned.
***
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Splendid.” Rhino clapped.
“Well, she is the tri-awakener, isn’t it supposed to be normal for her?” Hawk sulked.
“Love, don’t be jealous.” Goldie chuckled.
***
Hwayeon watched from Seohwa’s Earth Wall and gasped, “She doesn’t need us, it seems?”
“No way.” Taeseok smiled warmly at her, “She can only do that because she has us.”
Minggu patted Hwayeon’s shoulder, “You’re good to go but for now, it’s best we stay until Viper gives the signal to go.”
“My turn?” Taeseok lifted his shirt as Hwayeon quickly turned away, blushing at the fact he was so nonchalant at showing his abs.
“…” Minggu raised his brows and frowned, “Hyung, you seriously have some issues.”
“Like what?” Taeseok smirked as he briefly glanced at Hwayeon whose ears were red.
“How about mental?” Minggu rolled his eyes.
“Is that how you should speak to your hyung?”
“Act like one then.”
Back in the battlefield, Seohwa exhaled in controlled breaths as she dealt with about 500 soldiers in total so far.
She used her wind to redirect the enemy arrows onto their allies and used the earth to restrict their movements.
Her poison body and her whipsword coated in poison allowed her to move and attack freely amidst the enemies.
***
Rhino hummed, “…She’s training.”
“Huh?” Hawk glanced at him with widened eyes.
“You mean, she’s training her breathing right? To stabilise her stamina and last longer?” Goldie asked to confirm.
“Yes.”
Hawk rubbed his neck, “Isn’t she a monster then?”
***
Somehow, I feel quite good today…
The food is sitting well in my stomach…
My focus is clear…
Seohwa exhaled as she paused.
Maybe I can do it today…
Seohwa closed her eyes as she felt both the wind and earth around her hands.
“What is she doing?” Hwayeon squinted her eyes as Seohwa was staying still.
Soon, everyone in the simulation room felt a small rumble as rocks gathered close to Seohwa and wind tornadoes were forming closer to her.
When the rocks fully gathered, they created a Rock Golem, while the wind tornadoes fused into one forming into a large Tornado Golem.
“Go.” Seohwa pointed at the Illusion soldiers.
The two golems began to stampede through the large armies with ease as Seohwa fell on the ground, panting heavily.
***
Observatory.
“…” The three mentors froze.
“W-what is that?” Hawk paled.
“That, love, is the monstrous talent we nurtured.” Goldie chuckled but her eyes were wary.
***
“Viper is on fire today.” Taeseok hummed, “It seems we’ll win this easily, thanks to her.”
By the time the two golems came to the entrance of the fortress, massacring every enemy soldier, they soon dissolved.
Seohwa lay on the ground, exhausted, “It seems only 3 minutes… I can do it for 3 minutes…”
The horn soon blew as Jiho and Yerin were able to defeat the enemy general and got the flag.
***
14:05 - Cadet Meeting Room.
“Where did you go well today?” Rhino asked as everyone finished reviewing the videotape of their simulation practice.
Taeseok placed some chips in his mouth, “Role allocation.”
“Good. Anything else?” Rhino smiled.
“…”
“It’s great you’re all aware then.” Rhino placed his hands on his hips, “Because what you did out there today was quite a poor performance. Sure you succeeded but it was too risky.”
Jiho raised his hands as Rhino nodded, “Yes, Monkey?”
“If it succeeded that means we did well, no?”
“Of course not.” Goldie chuckled, patting his blonde hair. “What you did was create a plan based on information we gave you, only for you to realise there was missing information on the enemy. There were more soldiers than you expected, right?”
Everyone nodded.
Hawk smirked, “Sure you succeeded, but that’s thanks to Viper’s contribution. What if she wasn’t on a roll? What if her condition was weak? What then? All of you would have been eliminated.”
“What we’re saying is…” Rhino added, “You all are a good team with great strategies but what your plans don’t account for are the unexpected variables. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir.” The squad nodded.
“Good! With that over, let’s all do stamina training shall we?” Hawk rubbed mischievously together.
Taeseok, Jiho, Yerin and Minggu grumbled and Hwayeon chuckled as they followed Hawk out.
Rhino stopped Seohwa worriedly, “Not you, Viper.”
Seohwa raised her brows as Goldie began to check up on her.
After a while, Goldie smiled, “Just drained, thankfully, no signs of muscle rip or anything. But just to be safe, you rest today, Viper.”
!!!
Seohwa rebutted, “I can still…”
“No.” Rhino resolutely forbade her.
“…” Seohwa saw they were worried about her as she nodded, “Yes sir. Thank you, Ms Goldie.”
“Just doing my job.” Goldie patted her head.
Seohwa merely observed the stamina exercises everyone else were going through as she sighed, dejected.
Hawk, who was watching her, commented to Goldie, “First time I have ever seen someone so dejected to miss stamina exercises.”
“She’s a bit of a workaholic… Though, I understand her rush.” Goldie smiled as she placed a hand on her cheek.
“Do you, now?” Hawk raised his brow and sweetly wrapped his arms around her waist.
Goldie gasped, “The kids can see us.”
“So? You won’t let me pamper you with my undying affection?”
“That’s a cringey line, love.” Goldie laughed as she wrapped her arms around him.
Rhino spilled his coffee in his mouth to his cup, seeing the two. He then saw the squad slacking because of them, “No slacking! And you two, get a room!”
“Righty-o! Let’s go, love? Rhino said we can~” Hawk smiled warmly as he kissed her knuckles.
“It would be my pleasure~” Goldie hummed.
***
18:30 - Cafeteria.
Seohwa ate her tray of food with her squad as she asked, “You know, when are we going to… proceed with the plan?”
Everyone paused.
“I mean, we know how… the problem is when.” Seohwa observed everyone.
Yerin replied as she ate a tomato slice, “I’m not the only one who wants to leave just yet, right? If possible, I would like to stay until maybe the day before our graduation?”
Minggu nodded, “Same… I still want to ask Ms Goldie about a lot of things.”
“I want to keep eating the cafeteria and limited snack editions here.” Taeseok added.
“I want to train with Sir Hawk and Sir Rhino more.” Jiho clenched his fists.
“I’m still waiting on some rare ores for my gauntlets.” Hwayeon lifted her gauntlets.
Seohwa sighed, “You know, I think it’s good to consider what we learnt today. What if there was an unexpected variable in the next few months? Maybe it’s better to leave early?”
She noticed everyone reluctantly looking away as she stood up, “Alright. Just… give it some thought. I just think… What’s the point of delaying when we have the tools ready?”
She left them to think alone.
I understand them, really. They all want to stay as long as they can for Sir Hawk, Sir Rhino and Ms Goldie…
But, why do I have this uneasy feeling?
As she walked through the corridors, she saw Rhino talking with Stretch.
Seohwa was curious as she hid in the corridor behind them and used her wind ability to eavesdrop.
Stretch: “Taejoon blocked my authority and gave it to Dr 8… I don’t know how long it will be until Sector A will come under Dr 8.”
Rhino: “Shit. The only reason we can be like this is because of you… are you ok?”
Stretch: “Hm? Me? Oh I’m fine. Who isn’t fine or isn't going to be fine are the cadets… I just… fear for what’s to come.”
Rhino placed a hand on her shoulder, “Do you know when she’ll take over?”
Stretch: “…Just before the graduation day of the Furies.”
After Seohwa heard what they said, she immediately ran to their dorm room, D6-06.
