After picking up his wooden sword, he soon arrived at the training place, encased in green carpet and tall trees surrounding an open field.
He walked under the soft canopy that shielded him from the glare of the artificial sun, then stopped when he saw the field was empty, with only Master Kenji sitting cross-legged.
The boy approached, but his foot stepped on the grass, causing a rustle that woke Kenji, who seemed to be meditating.
"Cain, you've arrived?"
"Good afternoon, Master."
Cain bowed and glanced left and right, signaling something.
"Oh, they will come. It's just that there is something different about today's training session."
Kenji sighed and stood up. The boy nodded and walked to occupy the usual spot where he trained with the other candidates.
However, since there was still no one else besides him and the master, Cain planned to prepare first before starting the training earlier than the others.
He rotated his shoulders and wrists, then warmed up his body with small, intense jumps. After feeling ready, Cain stood in the middle of the field. Standing with an upright posture, he faced Kenji and bowed.
"Please lend me your guidance today as well."
Seeing his instructor bow back, Cain took a step backward and drew his wooden sword from his hand.
Cain gripped the hilt not too tightly, to give some flexibility for much force. He raised his sword above his head while shifting his feet into a middle-stance position.
Pausing for a moment, he took a gentle breath, feeling the fresh oxygen fill his lungs and spread throughout his body. In one exhale, his hand blurred and swung the wooden sword vertically.
The sharp sound of the wind being cut whistled quietly as if breaking the silence that had struck the training ground.
'Good, my performance is on top.'
Cain continued his repetitive swinging practice from ten to twenty, until the seniors gathered and trained with him, forming a line.
Kenji, who was watching them from the front, walked around the line with his left hand gripping a wooden sword tucked into his left obi. He made the cadets feel intimidated.
Although he looked rough, the man's mind was the opposite.
'They're good disciples of mine.'
Time kept passing, and the sun hanging above slowly shifted toward the west.
The orange light, mixed with crimson, cast a soft, ethereal glow in the field, illuminating the bodies of the cadets, who glistened as proof of their dedication to the training they had undergone.
"Stop here!"
Kenji's voice thundered like a shockwave, making his students stop simultaneously. They immediately lowered their swords and stood straight.
Cain exhaled, hearing the rapid pounding of his heart. He unconsciously tightened the grip on the hilt, his expression twisted in frustration.
'Not enough, I still want to continue.'
"We will end today's training. Thank you for your hard work!"
"Thanks for your hard work, Master!"
The cadets bowed for the last time before turning around and leaving the training field, all except Cain. He was still standing in place, his black eyes staring straight at Instructor Kenji.
"What is it, Cain? Do you have something to discuss?"
Cain's lips glued together. He stepped forward while resting his chin on his clenched fist, appearing hesitant to ask.
"Well, don't hesitate. What is it? This isn't the first time you've asked me something, is it?"
Master Kenji grinned. He crossed his arms over his chest to wait for the boy to speak.
"Alright then."
This first question had been bothering Cain's mind like a thorn stuck and refusing to come out.
"Why didn't I see Senior Kurata today?"
From the start of the training until it finished, Kurata, who usually stood in front of the cadets providing them with an example as a leader in that place, was absent. It wasn't just him; several other seniors also seemed absent from the training.
Master Kenji's lips curled down, seemingly conflicted about the thing that was plaguing his mind too.
The man tapped his finger several times before sighing, giving in to his student, whom he believed had high talent.
"Alright, I'll tell you. This was supposed to be a secret but, keep your mouth sealed, understand!"
Cain nodded and stepped closer, so Kenji didn't have to use a voice that was too loud.
"So, it's like this. Some of the best cadets from each division are being tasked with scouting a nearby Ruin."
"Ruin!?"
From the books Cain had read, Ruins are enclosed places, relics of the past, full of mystery and meaningful discoveries that could help the current civilization.
However, not all Ruins leave a lasting legacy; most have been destroyed by age or even turned into nests for corrupted, virus-beast creatures ready to devour them.
It was quite ironic to hear that the long-abandoned Ruins still had the potential to give hope to this already advanced civilization.
And because of that knowledge, a hypothesis appeared in Cain's head: That the world he lives in was not advanced at all. It was all nothing but a remnant or scraps left behind from the advanced civilization that was destroyed by the emergence of the virus that claimed billions of lives on the planet.
With that, Cain could draw the question: how great and how advanced was civilization before the apocalypse?
He couldn't imagine it.
The boy snapped out of his thoughts and asked another question.
"I see. How long does this expedition usually run?"
Kenji raised his pupils upwards, in the process of searching his memory.
"Most likely between one to two weeks."
"Quite long, huh."
"That's right."
Silence descended on the place, enveloping Cain and Kenji in a thick layer of awkwardness that felt bitter in their mouths.
Both were still hesitant with one another. Coincidentally, Cain and Kenji share the same desire to become closer as master and student.
For example, Cain, the former loner who never had many friends, wasted his resolve on the first day of training.
Then, Kenji, the old man who had dedicated half his life to the sword. His facial scars intimidated others, and because of that, he feared that his presence would make his student uncomfortable.
Cain curled his fingers into a fist, cursing himself inwardly.
'Oi! Stop being a coward and raise your head! You told yourself you wanted to get closer to the people around you, right? Do it!'
He scoffed before looking into Instructor Kenji's eyes. His big body was stiff like a robot lacking lubricant.
"M-Master Kenji."
His voice was a bit high, causing the big man's body to flinch.
"Y-Yes, what is it? Is there anything else you want to ask?"
The boy nodded and, without saying what it was, he turned around and stood in the middle of the field.
Cain took a deep breath while closing his eyes. And in one slow exhale, he opened it. He settled into a low stance. His right hand was at the left hip, where his wooden sword was held in his left.
"Cain, you!?"
Kenji's eyebrows furrowed when he saw the stance that he understood very well.
'Is he intending to show the technique he learned last night?'
It was absurd for someone to perform a movement they had only learned through knowledge without real practice.
Kenji widened his eyes as a possibility appeared in his head, asking himself what if the boy was practicing his movements in his own sleeping quarters at night, even without anyone's guidance.
'Is that even possible?'
The man dug into his own past, recalling that he must spend months mastering it with the help of others. Kenji didn't mean to belittle Cain's effort in wanting to show him the move.
Yet despite all his doubts. One thing started to surge from his own heart, wanting to see if the boy could pull off something miraculous.
'Show me, Cain!'
While his master was wrestling with his messy thoughts, Cain closed his eyes, trying to play the imprinted memory from last night.
A monitor screen appeared in his head, showing a black-haired boy practicing the same technique but with mature precision and honed sharpness.
After watching it several times, his neural system automatically synced with the simulation he watched earlier.
As he returned to the real world. Cain was staring at his right hand, which was twitching.
'Ah, this feeling is so nostalgic.'
Cain lifted his face. His vision was distorted, and the empty space in front of him became a bamboo pillar firmly rooted in the ground.
He loosened the tension in his arms and, in one quick breath. His hand reached for the wooden sword and drew it quickly.
The air went mute, leading to a sharp howl that reverberated across the field, shattering the silent void.
A diagonal slash spread from the body of the bamboo, which suddenly split and disappeared like a glitch, opening his view to a new possibility.
'I feel good.'
Seeing the smiling boy, Kenji's body shuddered. The turmoil in his chest heated up like a steam engine fed continuously with dry wood. His lips were grinning because he couldn't help but see an anomaly present in his training ground.
'He's a monster.'