Night quietly gave way to a new day. The cadets were running laps around the dirt field as usual. Their footsteps were in unison, pounding the ground with a synchronized rhythm.
Cain, running in the lead, peeked over his left shoulder and saw Abel grinning while giving him a wink. With the handsome face he possessed, his action was nothing but poison.
Rika, on the other hand, was keeping up with their intense pace. Although her breathing was ragged, the girl kept her hands tightly clenched and maintained a sharp gaze ahead, which fueled the cadets' spirits behind her.
The grey-haired boy shifted his gaze elsewhere, which accidentally met the eyes of the General, who stood upright. The man's eagle-like eyes were glaring at the world.
It seemed the General also noticed Cain's gaze. He grinned and roared his command that shook the atmosphere around him.
"Ten more laps, run as if your lives are on the line!"
All the cadets, including Cain, widened their eyes in disbelief. This was the first time the General had changed the cycle of their running sequences.
The cadets, who were used to the usual routines, shuddered at this new order. It was hard to imagine surviving after circling a field the size of four soccer fields.
Although they knew this was a bit excessive, no one dared to raise their hand and challenge his words. Then, the cadets glanced at Abel, who was running in front. Their eyes were full of hope for him to speak up about this unexpected turn.
However, they missed one crucial piece of information: Abel was obsessed with overtaking and defeating Cain, who was always ahead of him.
And Cain was the kind of person who liked to hone himself through trials, so the moment he was waiting for arrived.
'Alright, let's see how I can survive this.'
His black eyes turned to the side, following the notifications that appeared in slow succession.
Cain took a deep breath as he tightened all the muscles in his body. One hard stomp of his left foot sent his body dashed, leaving the other cadets behind.
"Eh?"
Abel was the first to respond; he was unable to believe the scene before him after looking at their lap, which hadn't even reached the starting line to start the sprint.
But, he wouldn't be Abel if he gave up on that. The boy looked back and received an nod of acknowledgment from Rika, which ignited the fire in his blue eyes.
"Go, chase him!"
Without thinking twice, Abel took one long stride, and then his body cut through the air, trying to catch up with Cain, who had already run a quarter of the field's length.
Cain glanced at his side while regulating his breathing. He witnessed a not-so-significant increase in his integrity point. It almost caused him to falter.
He shook his head, trying to discard the connotation of leveling up for now, and focusing only on what was ahead.
'Ten laps to go!'
From ten, it dropped to nine, and on the remaining three, things started to turn for the worse. Cain's vision narrowed, followed by ragged breaths, as he dragged his heavy clothes, which were soaked in sweat.
Despite the odds, Cain ran like crazy, even with his tongue sticking out.
'Huuf, two laps.'
His body and lungs felt like they were burning, the boy's mind turned empty, making him look like a robot programmed to run.
'Haa, huff, haa, one lap to go.'
From that moment, his narrowed vision broadened.
The world seemed to stop. Cain's eyes caught every detail of the dust entering his nose. The thundering sound of his beating heart faded before being replaced by a heartbreaking buzz, and Cain's vision turned white.
…
Cain didn't know how he'd managed to reach the finish line alone, while the others collapsed, and many were still running—or rather walking—to complete the task.
His body lost direction, and the scenery before him turned upside down as he felt a jolt that shook his brain.
All of a sudden, Cain was facing the sky, and he squinted, followed by the ringing buzz that pierced his ears.
The boy's heart was racing so fast he worried it would burst. With ragged breaths, he kept trying to pump oxygen into his screaming body.
"That was very impressive, Cadet Cain."
A large shadow blocked the scorching sunlight that burned his retinas.
"W-Who?"
Cain was so exhausted, he didn't even recognize the man in charge of his training.
"Ghahaha, I'm the one you guys called General, and my name is Dosh, remember that well!"
"Huff, G-General, D-Dosh, haa."
Dosh nodded and shifted his gaze. In the distance, other cadets were collapsing, walking, and one even almost reached the finish line at a slow pace.
Seeing all that, Dosh's mouth grinned, a surprisingly gentle expression mixed on his face after seeing his protégés develop this far.
"Alright, you all can stop there, take a rest."
His voice boomed like thunder, sending a shockwave that made the cadets fall and lie sprawled like scattered corpses on the field.
…
It took some time for the cadets to get back on their feet. Even though their legs felt numb, the cadets still lined up and waited for further orders from General Dosh.
"Good work everyone, and be prepared because your training will be like this from now on, mark my words!"
The upright posture of the cadets suddenly collapsed into a slouched one. They gritted their teeth, feeling a little frustrated with the results.
Thanks to this experience, most of them who had already felt liberated by reaching a certain level in their training had to swallow the bitter pill.
While the other cadets were sinking into their pool of regret, only Cain raised his gaze upwards.
'My god, so we will train like that from now on.'
He nodded and occasionally peeked at his status.
[INTEGRITY: 17.5%]
…
'Damn, all that desperation, yet it barely reaches twenty? You've gotta be kidding me!'
The value above was not entirely from this training session. That number was the accumulated result from the remainder of the test, and Cain's hours of training with his newest technique, 'Lightning Flash.'
"You may eat and proceed with your next training, but these five people will come with me."
Cain and everyone looked toward the podium. Their eyebrows furrowed, looking confused about General Dosh's intentions.
"Rika, Cain, Abel, Peter, and Louise, these five people stay on the field and the rest of you may disperse."
"As you command!"
The cadets shouted while patting their chests as a symbol of respect. Then, they turned and left the field except for the five people mentioned, including himself.
Cain exchanged glances with Abel, Rika, and unintentionally met Peter's gaze. As for the other one, a girl with a slender body, looking around, flustered by the situation.
'Crap, who is she again?'
The gray-haired boy subtly activated his 'Eagle Eyes,' scanning her figure for a few seconds. Yet his mind drew a blank.
'Nope, I don't know her!'
He cruelly shook his head and faced the General.
"Follow me!"
Without saying much, Dosh jumped off the podium and strolled away, leaving all the remaining cadets gawking at his retreating back.
Before the silence forced their feet to stay in place, Cain dragged his heavy feet to follow General Dosh's tracks.
Abel, Rika, Louise, and Peter followed in silence. They lined up behind the man like ducklings following their mother.
They left the field area, passed the dormitory area, and kept walking until arriving at the entrance gate. It was the boundary that separated the training grounds and the outside world.
In front of him, there were twin gates. On each side, it was connected to a towering wall coated with steel dozens of meters high. It stretched on both sides, enveloping the training area like a protective cage.
Cain swallowed, his fingertips starting to freeze as he felt a bit worried about where they would end up.
General Dosh went another way, but before he left, the man turned to the cadets and said.
"You guys can wait near that gate."
The man went to the building next to the gate. It has a cube-like shape, with security guards constantly monitoring anyone entering or exiting the military training area.
Soon after, Cain and the other four who were waiting at the gate saw the General's figure approaching.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Just as he finished saying that, the iron gate shook, sending tremors that spread from the ground to the hearts of the cadets who were watching it.
When the gate opened, Cain saw a woman in a black suit and a skirt that showed her curves. He knitted his brows tight as he recalled her somewhere.
"General Dosh, everything has been prepared."
The woman fixed her glasses and spoke to the General. Dosh nodded, then turned his body to look at the 'chicks' behind him.
"Are you all ready?"
"Where to?"
Abel, who instinctively asked, drew everyone's attention and made the General grin.
"Get ready because we are going to visit the soldiers' barracks."