As days passed peacefully and when his mind was at its peak, Cain spent the morning running on the field with the other cadets.
The shouts of command from the general, and the heavy feeling of the air as it entered one's lungs thanks to the mixture of dust being kicked up, accompanied his days in sweat.
"Increase your pace, cadets! Five more laps!"
Cain exhaled sharply as he lowered his body and shot forward, cutting through the atmospheric resistance that hindered his run.
In front of him, the figure of the short blonde-haired boy peeked at him. His lips parted as he took a deep breath to accelerate. The grey-haired boy chuckled and stomped the dirt hard, following Abel one step closer behind.
Although they were both doing the same exercise, there was a big difference between them.
Cain sped up his pace and slowly shortened the distance between the two. While Abel was panting, cold sweat started to stream from his forehead.
"On your right!"
With that silly sentence, Cain's body blurred, raising some dust as he left Abel, who ground his teeth in frustration.
"Ah, darn it."
"Watch your word, Abel!"
From behind him, Rika followed, her expression as white as a sheet and panting like Abel, perhaps even worse.
Hearing their banter, Cain glanced to the side at the notification from the blue panel that kept appearing at minute intervals.
'It's slowing down.'
Cain's fingers were clenching into tight fists. Although he predicted this, witnessing it directly frankly sank his spirits to keep trying.
In his first week, the notification appeared for about 20-30 seconds, and it has escalated to 5-10 minutes now. If he kept this pace, others, especially Abel, would undoubtedly leave Cain behind.
'No, don't rush things. The time will come soon, probably.'
He shook his head, trying to throw away his foolish thoughts.
"Hurry up! Are you a god damn snail, give it all you've got until you throw up!"
The general's voice boomed like thunder, sending a small shockwave that stirred the hidden emotions in the cadets' hearts. They grimaced while clenching their jaws together.
As the others wrinkled their expressions. Cain puffed out his lungs and kicked the field's dirt, scattering dust that blocked the runners behind him.
Cain passed one, two, and unknowingly became the one that led the pack and stepped onto the finish line before the others followed a moment after.
'Huff, I need to push myself further.'
He slowed down and relaxed the tension in his body. He lifted his gaze to stare at the blue sky that stretched into the distance.
A glimpse of the soft, white smoke floating in the sky urged him to reach for it and use it as a napping pillow.
However, behind the beauty of the sky in Babylonia. It hid a grim truth, for the sky was nothing more than a projection screen that mimicked the real sun's waves and heat.
The ceilings of the city were like a dome, protecting its inhabitants from the polluted atmosphere outside.
Far away from the planet's surface, a satellite orbiting outside the planet's atmosphere connected to the projection above and continuously updated the rotation of day and night precisely.
"Cain, next time I will definitely be ahead of you."
A grumbling voice pierced his ears. It came from Abel's quivering lips when he approached Cain, and Rika followed behind him.
Abel's expression was dimmed, covered by the shadow of failure that ignited a spark in his blue eyes. Rika's shoulders moved up and down because she was having difficulty in regulating her heavy breathing.
"Strive as hard as you can!"
The gray-haired boy grinned. His gaze was drawn to another direction when he saw the general stepping down from the podium and approaching the cadets.
'What's the matter?'
"Cadets, gather!"
The cadets immediately approached, trying to line up neatly. But when the man raised his hand, they halted.
"No need to line up, rest as comfortably as you can."
They nodded slowly, and some immediately dropped to the ground, lying down like puppets whose strings were cut. And some were still standing, although panting, but their gaze was straight.
"It has been a month since we met."
The general paused briefly, lifting his lips to form a small smile. The days they spent together, seeing the cadets' growth, made the steel wall in the man's heart crumble.
Although this was not the first time he had felt this way, moments like this showed that humans were the vessels of hope.
Let a portion of the planet's land be barren, filled with terrifying disasters that bring despair. But as long as there is fire in the eyes of these teenagers, the world still has hope for salvation.
"Aside from your morning training, I often ask the other trainers about your recent progress."
The general picked up a terminal and began scrolling through the display screen, which contained a detailed report of the cadets, which he summarized.
Of hundreds of new cadets, only three received high ratings from the trainers, including the other senior cadets who saw them directly on the field.
{Cadet name: Abel}
> Exceptional Physical strength and growth
> Admitted to the main training unit in swordsmanship class
> Mutation potential 9. His growth truly deserved its talent.
Scrolling below it, the man saw the profile of the red-haired girl.
{Cadet name: Rika}
> She has exceptional analytical abilities.
> Her accuracy in shooting: 96,7% (A perfect mark)
> Mutation potential 7, making her a good prospect for the future.
The general scrolled past the girl's profile, his eyebrows furrowing as he looked at the report about Cain.
{Cadet name: Cain}
> He has an intuitive-level ability regarding blades.
> Great perseverance and has almost perfect accuracy using 'Winter Hawk' in his first try.
> Mutation Potential 1… Irregular.'
The reports from Instructor Kenji and the trainer from the shooting zone gave Cain a near-perfect score.
However, the disturbing thing about the report was that Cain only possessed Mutation potential 1, which seemed to mock all his greatness in this training.
The general pressed the terminal power button, turning off the screen. His eagle-like eyes swept through the cadets and announced.
"You may not know this yet. Next week, all of you will participate in a small test among the new cadets to show your progress."
After hearing the news, the cadets' eyes widened. Their bodies squirmed as if zapped by an electric current that paralyzes their consciousness.
All the cadets unconsciously turned around, staring at the figure of the calm, grey-haired boy who seemed detached from the world.
Abel, especially, his clenched fist tore the skin of his hand. Blood flowed, and the pain surged through his heart, awakening the sleeping tiger.
'This is my chance.'
From the side, Rika shifted her gaze to the distance. Her whole body trembled from fighting her urge to treat Abel's bleeding hand. Yet, on the other hand, her lips were wide, showing a gentle expression full of affection.
'You can do it, Abel.'
While all the cadets' attention was fixed on Cain's figure, the boy in question was diving into his thoughts.
He swallowed to moisten his parched throat. His black eyes glanced to the side, looking at the status panel that appeared.
[NULL SEQUENCE v0.1.0]
> USER ID: Cain
> CLASS: Undefined Entity
> LEVEL: 7.0
> INTEGRITY: 27.5%
…
Cain's vision narrowed, trying to hold back the grin that was almost appearing on his calm expression.
'This is my chance to develop further.'
His daily training was no longer as interesting as it was on the first day, when he felt his rapid growth.
Every day, he asked himself what could accelerate the growth of integrity points to raise the level number in his status.
If Integrity can increase just by training, wouldn't increasing the intensity accelerate the percentage of its growth?
Cain has been stuck in basic training for too long, building a solid foundation. It was time for him to step further and break the wall blocking him.
His fingers twitched, which he folded to form a tight fist. He continued to open his ears, listening to the announcement from the general.
"Good, I hope you are ready on that day, because the seniors and also the other instructors will come to witness how brilliant the cadets of this generation are."
The atmosphere on the field thickened. The cadets' expressions were tight, filled with firm determination as they glared at the peak occupied by the gray-haired boy.
'I will win!'