"Alright, juniors, we have arrived."
The black-haired male senior turned to face the cadets standing behind him. Cain looked up, his eyes observing another large field. He saw many people lined up, swinging their bamboo swords.
Swoosh!
Simultaneously, a sharp vertical slash cutting through the air, whistled softly like a hum of death.
The atmosphere on the field seemed calm, yet from that tranquillity, Cain's hair stood on end. His fingertips were freezing as he watched the other seniors practising.
The cadets with him gaped. Their eyes widened as they could not contain the emotions overflowing in their chests.
"Woah."
"So there's a place like this too."
"We will also undergo that training."
"I can't wait."
Besides Cain, several other cadets chose the same path as him. But all of them were male; no single new female cadet joined the training.
"Follow me!"
The male senior left the spot, his long black hair swaying with the rhythm of his steps.
The moment he and Cain approached the front row. A man in his mid-forties raised his hand, causing all the students to stop raising their wooden swords and stand straight.
"You're back, Kurata."
"I'm back, master."
Kurata straightened his body and slightly bowed.
Cain swallowed, his eyebrows furrowing as he watched the old man sitting on an ordinary wooden chair stand up.
He has a sharp expression reminiscent of a Tiger. His black hair, with a tinge of grey mixed in, was tied at the back. Several tiny scars are carved into the man's face, the most prominent one being a scar that cuts vertically through his left eye.
The man wore a loose, navy-blue garment known as a dougi, a special training uniform for people from the East in martial arts training.
For his lower half, the man wore a black hakama with an original katana sword tucked into the obi on his left side.
The man's eyes shifted to the new cadets, including Cain. He nodded, seeing several candidates willing to join their training.
"New cadet, come before me!"
The man's voice reverberated in the area, causing the other cadets to exchange glances and finally turn towards Cain, who kept looking straight ahead.
Ignoring the attention directed at him, Cain lifted his feet and walked closer to the man. However, his breath hitched when he stepped three paces from the master.
A chill crept down his spine, eating away at his body's heat. From his chest, he could feel his heart pound hard as if going to burst from his ribs.
Cain gritted his teeth and took another step. His body began to tremble violently, and his black eyes narrowed. He realized that the pressure exerted by the old man in front of him had intensified twofold.
'W-What the!? Is this some kind of test?'
Although he didn't know the real reason, Cain took a deep breath and planted another step. The boy's vision shook as he watched the space around him distort into glitching errors.
The heavy pressure was beginning to crush not only his mental but also his body. Yet his feet refused to bend. Clenching his teeth and fists, the boy took another step to stand directly in front of the old man and glared at him.
'Is this enough for you!'
A second passed before the man's mouth widened, revealing his white fangs. He chuckled, then burst out laughing while patting Cain's shoulder a few times.
"Bwahahaha, you have guts, boy. What's your name? Say it loudly in front of everyone!"
The intimidation seemed like a lie as it vanished into oblivion. The old man withdrew his hand and allowed the still groggy, grey-haired boy to face his seniors.
In front of Cain, his seniors stood tall, their expressions twisted in mixed feelings when they saw a new boy succeed in the challenge from the master.
"My name is Cain. Starting today, I will study the katana sword with you seniors. Please guide me."
Cain lowered his gaze and bowed briefly before straightening his body.
However, he was greeted by silence. From afar, the rustling sound of grass swallowed the silence that descended upon the place.
The boy exhaled sharply as he silently gazed at the senior lining before him. For some unknown reason, when Cain saw the way they trained, the sight in front of him did not feel unfamiliar to him.
It gave birth to an illusion, and a small image appeared when he saw a short black-haired teenager swinging a bamboo sword inside a room, alone and filled with determination.
'What is that?'
Cain shook his head, trying to erase the image that tugged at a string in his heart. It caused his focus to almost scatter.
"Okay, next."
A hoarse, loud voice snapped the boy from his reverie. Cain looked and followed the old man's gaze, and his pupils constricted.
'Huh, I thought the other cadets were following me from behind?'
Instead of standing behind Cain, the other cadets were still held back by Kurata's raised hand. He gazed at the man's face, pondering what was actually happening.
'What is their true motive in separating us?'
"Cain, wait here on this side."
Hearing the command from the master, Cain reluctantly nodded and stepped to the old man's other side.
'Well, no point thinking about it.'
As he got a broader perspective, the boy finally understood. The test itself was a personal test conducted by the master to test how great one's own mental strength was.
Because no matter how good one person's potential was, if they have no grit and effort they poured, it will be meaningless in the end.
There were many cases when a person received a potential number above 3, yet because of his laziness and arrogant nature, he became nothing more than a feeder of those monsters out there.
The opposite could happen when a low-potential human survived the hellish war and stood as a people with rank.
The other cadets were tested one by one. Most couldn't even take a step when hit by the pressure, and only one person managed to take one step, making the seniors howl with admiration.
Cain glanced to the side, his eyebrows furrowing because he realized that the reaction he received felt different.
'So taking one step was impressive? Then pushing through to stand directly in front of him must have been... unexpected.'
Not long after, the last test was over, with only Cain able to pass it with a perfect score.
"Kurata, go practice with the others. You lead them."
"Yes, master."
Kurata nodded, and the master swept his eyes through the new cadets.
"As for you, come with me, we will separate from the seniors."
Cain and the others were led to an empty field next to the seniors. He shifted his gaze to another direction, staring into the lush greenery around him as if losing focus.
However, instead of daydreaming. Cain inhaled deeply to feel the oxygen rush through his veins, clearing the unnecessary thought clouding his mind.
"Alright, first of all, welcome to my training ground. My name is Hazama Kenji. Call me master, Instructor Kenji, or whatever you want."
The cadets and Cain nodded slightly. Instructor Kenji resumed his explanation.
"You should have received a microchip from Kurata, right? Let me see."
Cain reached into his right pants pocket and took out a small chip pinched between his index finger and thumb.
Kenji stared briefly and nodded, then raised his right hand and spoke.
"Now, I want you to insert that chip into your smartwatch."
However, the cadets looked at the smartwatches on their hands while scratching their heads. The device in their hands did not have a single hole to insert anything.
Seeing the cadets confused, Kenji stepped forward, took the chip from one of the cadets, and pressed it against the watch on the boy's hand.
"All of you watch this!"
Cain leaned forward, his eyes widening as the smartwatch on the cadet's hand disassembled, revealing a small hole through which the microchip could enter and be swallowed.
"Woah, that's amazing."
A voice of amazement came from the cadet's mouth. Cain caught a faint blue light from the boy's brown iris just before it faded.
'What was that?' Cain muttered while staring at his chip. 'C-Could it be some kind of process of planting knowledge into a brain or something?'
Unconsciously, his black eyes glowed blue, and one of his abilities activated.
[Scan Protocol activated.]
[Microchip = a device that stores a fragment of knowledge about martial arts of Eastern swordsmanship.]
> Made of Nanites that will be absorbed into the host's body and implant the ability directly into the host's brain.
> No side effects.
> The leftover Nanites would slowly be thrown away through the excreted hole.
Cain's expression twisted as he read the last line.
'Are you serious right now?'
[Scanning the Information… Basic technique of Kenjutsu. …Scan Complete.]
[Decompressing it into Data!]
[Data successfully saved.]
[Would you like Data Reconstruction to absorb it into your brain? Y/N]
His lips curled up, and he saw the results of his ability, which continuously amazed him. He closed his eyes for a moment and said, "Y" in his heart.
[Copying complete.]
[Data Acquired: Basic Swordmanship (Aspire)]
Implanted in his brain was the basic ability of Eastern swordsmanship training: stance, grip, footwork, slash—everything permeated every cell in his body.
All that knowledge felt like something he had studied for several years, causing Cain to grin as he opened his eyes.
'Nice!'
"Are you finished?"
The voice drew Cain's attention back to the others, and seeing Instructor Kenji looking away from him, the boy immediately put the chip in his hand back into his pocket.
He and the other cadets nodded. Their fingertips twitched in anticipation as tension began to creep up their spines.
Instructor Kenji nodded, satisfied with the current talent that came to his camp and roared.
"Alright, for your first day, you will spend it standing in your stance!"