Chapter 9 - Checkpoint

Chapter 9 - Checkpoint

"Kinjo, we can't let Amon run wild. If it's Amon, he'll even be a threat to his own teammates."

"Yeah, Amon's probably the one we need to watch out for the most. His swordsmanship is exceptional, and he hasn't shown a single weakness so far. Plus, the standard-issue weapon is a wooden sword. No matter how you look at it, this test is tailored to favor Amon."

Kinjo raised the wooden sword he'd been issued.

"And to top it off, Vel is in the same team. Team B's strongest is definitely them. Vel's ability may only work once, but no one can withstand that single strike. Actually, it might not even be a one-time use. With the test lasting 24 hours, she could take breaks and recover."

Kinjo placed his fingertips under his chin.

A scar remained there from when he'd been slashed by a rogue's dagger.

"If she can recharge during breaks, Vel might be able to use her ability two or three times..."

For a moment, his knack for tactical analysis overshadowed the misunderstanding that he used his magic just to peek at people's insides.

Kinjo's strategic insights and evaluations had always been his forte. His ability to memorize the map with his clairvoyance and use it for such in-depth discussion showcased his true potential.

If Kinjo graduated from the training camp and took on larger missions, his talents would shine even brighter.

A Kinjo with his clairvoyance intact would undoubtedly be the key to counterattacks.

***

One hour before the first test.

Team B.

"Yesterday's friends are today's enemies."

Amon murmured, pressing the hilt of his wooden sword to his forehead.

"What are you doing?"

Vel asked.

"A ritual. A ritual."

"Right... do your thing."

She distanced herself, as if wanting no part in his peculiar act.

"A ritual to approach this moment as a competitor, with hostility in mind."

"There's no need to get so worked up about it."

"Vel, don't misunderstand. You can't win with a half-hearted mindset."

"Against who?"

"Obviously..."

Amon's eyes widened as he shouted:

"Obviously, against Louis!"

"Ah... I see."

"Damn it, why did Louis have to be in Team A? Of all people, I didn't want to go up against him."

Amon slammed the tip of his wooden sword into the ground.

"Why are you so hung up on Luis? Isn't Mago and Kinjo the real threat in Team A?"

Vel completely ignored Amon's rant about Luis.

"Mago and Kinjo? Whatever happens to those guys..."

"Weren't they inseparable even before they joined the camp? Like a master and servant duo."

"Oh, right. If I were Mago, I'd have ditched Kinjo the moment I gained freedom. But look at them, still sticking together. That just means Mago doesn't have the guts to leave. We don't need to worry about someone like that."

"Even so, they're well-known in the capital. There's even a nickname combining their names... 'Majo,' isn't it?"

"That disgusting nickname is all they have. Kinjo might be dangerous since he's a magician and could pull something unexpected, but Mago? He's just fast. That's it."

Amon conveniently erased the memory of losing to Mago in a sparring match not long ago.

"That wasn't a formal match, anyway."

He couldn't bring himself to acknowledge a former slave.

"Formal match?"

"Nothing."

"Something about this feels off..."

Vel mumbled, stretching her arms behind her head.

"Forget it. What's more important is figuring out how to deal with Louis. If I go too hard on him, you'll have to hold me back."

"If you're that reluctant, you could just exchange maps with him."

"That's not an option. No matter how much I like Louis, there's no way I'd consider exchanging maps. It's not about passing together—it's about taking him down. The goal is to eliminate as many others as possible."

"You're oddly serious about this."

Amon pressed the hilt of his wooden sword against his forehead once more.

***

Five minutes before the first test.

Group A.

In the end, I admitted it.

"You're right."

"The others don't really understand the lake. Nobody will see you as a threat. In other words, it's the perfect setup to exploit weaknesses. But don't let your guard down just because we're in the same group."

Kinjo nodded a couple of times, as if organizing his thoughts.

"This isn't about Group A versus Group B; it's all two-on-two skirmishes in the end. Scores are determined by order of arrival, anyway."

He reinterpreted the briefing we received.

"There are plenty of ways to sabotage others, too. Still, it'd be better if Group B fractures first."

"Kinjo, I'll carry two packs."

"Two? You mean mine too?"

"Yeah, yours too. You run ahead; I'll catch up right away."

"You're saying that after volunteering to carry two packs? Confident much."

"What are you two whispering about?"

Luis, standing nearby, interrupted.

"We were just talking about how being in the same group doesn't mean we're allies."

"Mago, why do you always have to say unnecessary things? Are you implying Luis is an enemy?"

"Who knows? We'll find out once it starts."

An awkward silence hung in the air for a moment.

Kinjo tried to change the mood by steering the conversation elsewhere.

"Luis, why did you join the training camp?"

"Huh? Well, uh… Now that you ask, it's a bit embarrassing to say. Do I really have to?"

"Attention!"

That was as far as the chit-chat went.

The head instructor raised an arm high.

Group A hastily fell into formation.

"Group A."

The instructor's low voice cut through the tension.

Nervousness was evident on the recruits' faces.

"Move out!"

The raised arm came down with force.

With a roar, Group A surged forward.

"Let's stick to the plan," Kinjo said.

"Got it."

He lowered his stance, took a deep breath, and prepared to bolt.

The sand beneath his toes scattered as he burst forward, overtaking the others in an instant.

"What the—!"

"Was Kinjo always that fast?"

It wasn't that Kinjo was exceptionally quick compared to the others.

It was simply inevitable.

He carried nothing on his back.

His speed was worlds apart from the recruits weighed down by their packs.

"Where's his pack…?"

"Isn't that cheating?"

Kinjo's pack was on my right shoulder.

My own pack rested on my left.

I adjusted my stance, pulling my left leg back, and shot forward like an arrow.

Even with two packs, I was faster than a full-grown horse.

Carrying packs like these was nothing.

"Unbelievable!"

"How is he faster with two packs than we are without?"

I ignored their groaning voices and focused on my breathing.

Before long, I caught up to Kinjo.

"You're here already?"

This was the first and last time Group A and Group B would meet—at the checkpoint.

The faster we got there, the more options we'd have.

Getting ahead early would allow us to observe the rest of the recruits and adapt accordingly.

We passed a few others to take the lead in Group A.

"For now, we're the fastest in Group A, but I wonder about the others…"

Kinjo's voice carried a mix of anticipation and unease.

***

30 minutes into the first exam.

B Group.

"Vel is fascinating. She moves exactly as much as she eats. It's like she's a machine running on fuel. Sometimes, she doesn't even seem human…"

Amon panted heavily, his breath coming in ragged gasps as sweat plastered his hair to his forehead.

"Ha… ha… what… do you want me to do…?"

One of his peers running beside him replied, equally out of breath.

"How could the youngest son of the esteemed Coster family, one of the Empire's three great houses, be struggling this much? I still… ha… don't understand it…"

"What do you want from me, exactly…?"

"In my family, training starts from infancy. That's why… ha… even a hike like this, carrying gear, isn't much of a challenge."

"For someone claiming that, you seem… ha… about ready to give up yourself…"

"Shut up… I was preparing for this exam since yesterday…"

Amon wiped away the sweat irritating his eyes.

"And so…?"

"So, I gave all my meals… ha… to Vel yesterday and this morning…"

Clenching his teeth, he added,

"That's why…! Right now, Vel is probably the fastest among us!"

"Damn it… this team allocation was all wrong…"

"I'm going to the special operations unit as the top recruit! For the glory of my family…"

Breaking through the stifling trees, they emerged into open land.

As they crested the final hill, a flat expanse came into view.

"It's the checkpoint," Kinjo muttered.

The trees were gone. Only the plain and sunlight remained—along with red hair billowing in the wind.

"You're late."

Vel swept her hair back. A blue cloth wrapped around her arm identified her as part of B Group. She was also the opponent Kinjo had deemed the toughest in B Group.

"Vel, you're clearly out of breath. You just got here, didn't you?" Kinjo pointed out.

"Huff… no, I didn't." Vel forced herself to suppress her breathing.

But I focused on something else entirely.

"Where's Amon?"

"He's right behind me, catching up."

"You're not just handling everything alone, are you?"

"I said he's right behind me, didn't I?"

She hoped we'd fall for it, but we weren't buying it.

"Hand over the map," Vel demanded, extending her wooden sword.

"Wait, Vel. How about we trade maps instead? There's no need for us to fight," Kinjo suggested, stepping back.

Wasting Vel's explosive power on us, at this early stage of the test, would be regrettable.

At least, that was the hope.

"We've got a plan too. Amon didn't agree, but I made the call." Vel spoke up.

"That's not a plan if you decided it on your own," Kinjo mocked.

Ignoring his sarcasm, Vel declared confidently,

"If we run into anyone from A Group, especially you two, we'd take you down right away."

"This is bad… of all people, it had to be us," Kinjo groaned, rubbing his forehead.

"Listen, Vel." He began his rebuttal.

"Let's exchange maps here and go down peacefully. The difference between first and second place is only one point, right? There are three more tests left, and there's the individual skills evaluation too."

"I knew you'd say that, Kinjo. But while you two came together, I have to wait for Amon. Do you expect me to stand here and watch you secure first place? Even if it's just one point, why should I give it to you?"

"Vel, let's get the facts straight," I interrupted, cutting in.

"Isn't Amon supposed to be right behind you?"

Vel being alone was now a certainty.

"That's… just a figure of speech! And besides, exchanging maps wasn't part of the plan. If we can drag even one of you down, we will. That was Amon's resolution. Even if it's Louis."

"'Even if it's Louis,' huh. Amon sure is determined…" Kinjo muttered, oddly impressed.

He then countered.

"But that's Amon's resolution. Does that mean you agree with it too?"

"It's not wrong, is it?" Vel shot back.

Kinjo was momentarily at a loss for words and looked at me, seemingly conceding the argument.

"I was getting annoyed with all this talk anyway. If Amon's not here, that means Vel's alone," I said, dropping both our gear to the ground.

Then I drew my wooden sword.

"Kinjo. Remember what we talked about on the way up?"

He nodded slightly.

We'd prepared for this.

If we encountered Vel and had no choice but to fight, we'd already decided how to handle it.

"Vel?" Kinjo had asked earlier, surprised.

"If we face Vel and must fight, we can't take her strikes head-on. Instead, we dodge."

"Dodge?"

"Just once. If we dodge her even once, she'll be incapacitated. Dodging is how we win."

"Easier said than done."

"It's not even easy to say. But I know Vel's body well enough."

"Stop saying things that could be misunderstood." Kinjo had dismissed my remark as a joke.

But I had continued.

"When Vel uses the Red family's unique magic, her body turns red, and she emits heat. You'll see steam rising off her. She burns through energy explosively and collapses once it's all used up."

"Like a machine running on fuel."

"The key is to know the timing. You'll see it with your own eyes."