—

“Ahhh! Please, no more!”

“Shit! Fuck! God damn it!”

“Stop this, please! I can’t!”

“Don’t come closer! Eeek!”

“Argh! Get away from me!”

In the middle of a vast track field, a bunch of people were gathered. The majority are running for their lives, chased by the yipping hounds who had no ounce of hesitation going for their vulnerable parts; arms, legs, sustained injuries, private parts…the hounds had no qualms abusing the weak points of the scared cadets, especially those who refused to learn their lesson.

Some of them couldn’t help but wonder how things reached this point. Because as far as they’re aware, their day off just passed. And while they were expecting to return to training and hopefully survive their next patrol, they certainly weren’t expecting their training to escalate to this hellish level. Just what in the world brought this on?

As much as they’d like to demand an explanation from their respective leaders, they couldn’t simply because the suffering they were experiencing was far worse than theirs.

All the Squad Leaders were wrestling against a Cerberus – a three-headed giant hellhound who’s definitely yipping delight for having so many playmates.

The cadets could see the Squad Leaders getting maimed in real time, only to be healed during the next moment. Some shivered and paled in fright, having brushed so close to dying. But even so, they’d stand up and throw themselves at it again…willingly, like they’re going mad.

This might just be as bad as going on a patrol. The only saving grace is that they’re healed as soon as they’re injured, so they’re under no real threat of dying. However, the pain was simply too much, and their fear overwhelmed them.

In their haze and fear, none of them kept track of time. They had no idea how long it had been since they started this. And they couldn’t see an end to this. Slowly but surely, they’re losing hope and energy to the point that they can’t even run anymore.

‘So…geniuses, huh?’

Suddenly, a clear and flat-toned voice echoed in their ears, cutting through their haze and pulling them back to reality.

‘Geniuses…people really throw that word fairly easily nowadays. Attaching it to some random Tom, Dick, or Harry, just because they achieved the minimum standards for power.’

‘Just because you never failed your Hell Dives…just because you got lucky at the wheel of fortune, getting a fairly rare class…just because you threw your image around, looking cool and awesome…suddenly, you all became geniuses in their eyes.’

‘Handsome/Beautiful, endlessly heroic, an example for everybody, dragons amongst men, deserving of all the respect, and…future pillars of Humanity.’

Then, all of them heard a mocking sneer from the voice, cutting so deep into their insecurities.

‘I wonder what they’d think when they see you…future pillars of Humanity, crying and begging to be spared after receiving just a slight abuse from these cute little puppies.’

‘They’re not even that bad, to be honest. Haven’t you all gone on a Clear Streak on your Hell Dives? Then by all means, shouldn’t this be a cinch for you?’

‘It’s just a Hellhound. What are you crying for? Haven’t you fought worse? Have none of you learned anything from your Hell Dives? You could clear waves upon waves of demons in there but when it happens in real life, suddenly you couldn’t?’

“Geez, you lot are more pathetic than I initially thought.”

That last part was said out loud, and by this time, everybody knew who was talking to them.

It was none other than Cedric, #1 here. He didn’t even glance at their direction but they could just feel the sheer disdain he held towards them and he’s not even bothering to hide it.

He fearlessly charged toward the Cerberus, and amongst the Squad Leaders who were playing with the giant pup, he was the only one who was making it difficult for the thing to hurt him.

Even as he was caught multiple times – they saw him getting stabbed in the heart and pummeled to the ground, they heard his bones shatter and his organs rupture, he stood up as soon as he was healed and threw himself right at it again. Not a grunt of pain or a curse left his lips as he did so.

‘You all have so much energy and brain capacity to use, yet instead of using it to find a solution to your problem, you use it to whine, cry, and wallow in despair, victimizing yourself for something that you signed up for.’

‘All you needed to do, was to fucking look around you and search for clues that might help you with the predicament you’re in, yet all you’re doing so far during the 10 minutes since we started this, was to panic and run away from your problems, hoping that someone will take a pity on you, save you, and end your suffering…because you all think that you did absolutely nothing to deserve this.’

Another mocking laugh echoed in their ears, one that pierced through their deepest and darkest thoughts, putting them in shame and seemingly humiliating them.

‘Let’s see…so you all grew up in a peaceful environment where all your needs are met. You got lucky during your class awakening for received varying levels of Class rarity, which was followed by all sorts of privilege, status increase, all manner of resources, and loads of people wanting to stroke your egos in hopes of rising with you.’

‘Because of your dogshit luck, Hell Dives – which were supposed to temper your fighting spirit and prepare you for the actual thing, became nothing but a mild inconvenience to you. Still, even though you never learned your lesson, you were rewarded for doing it. Hell, you even made it to the most prestigious learning institution, which opened your eyes to the real broadness of the world.’

‘Everything was handed over to you on a silver platter, all under the assumption that once the need arises, you wouldn’t hesitate to contribute for the benefit of the race…the community that allowed all of that to become possible in the first place.’

“You reaped all the benefits, consumed all manner food and resources, enjoyed numerous privileges, you took, took, and took some more…but when the time comes that you’re supposed to do the one thing requested out of you before they gave you everything, you fold, curl-up, whine, and cry.”

Cedric paused, released his killing intent at full mast, dowsing every single living being in this track field with his sheer animosity and pulsating anger…

“Geniuses my foot. Where’s all that hesitation, uncertainty, and fear when you take everything that has been handed to you? What you’re experiencing so far barely even counts for everything that you took, yet you all are already like this?” He snarled.

“You lot are nothing but a waste of space, rotten flesh bags, a sorry excuse of a Human, pests, locusts, nasty parasites, and pathetically weak insects!”

“Turning you all into an endlessly regenerating food source for the Hellhounds is a more fitting end to you than dying out there on the field! You pompous pieces of shit should’ve already learned your places here, but just so I can remind you, you’re nothing more than cannon fodders here. Your lives are expendable, and nobody will bat an eye if you die.”

“You want to be valued? Treated like a person at least? Then fucking use your brain, dipshits! Use the one thing that separates you from these Hellhounds. Maybe, just maybe…you can earn a little respect from me and the army.”

After mercilessly berating them like no one ever did, Cedric whistled, sending the hounds running after them once more. He refused to say a word to them after that.

Things got silent for everybody, except for the occasional grunts of pain, and hurt cries of the suffering cadets. It’s safe to say that all of them were cowed and ruthlessly slapped awake to the bitter reality of their situation…because apparently, showing them the real state of the world wasn’t enough to do it for them.

Some distance away from the track field, the Knight Captains watched everything that happened. They heard everything, even Cedric’s sound transmission to the rest of his fellow cadets.

“Gosh, that kid’s gonna make me cry.” One of the Knight Captains dramatically fanned his eyes. “Why can’t every brat we get be like him?”

His other colleagues nodded sagely at his remark. Whether they admit it or not, they were moved by his words. Indeed, spoken like a true soldier.

“Look at you, Silverwing. Looking all smug and shit.” Someone jeered at the fox-eyed captain. “You got lucky with that one, you bastard.”

“Go on and cry about it, bitch!” Silverwing fired back, not letting his colleague rain on his parade. “You’re just jealous that I wouldn’t receive so many complaints and paperwork, lazy ass.”

“Hey, can we really not adopt him?” One of the female knight captains asked tentatively. “I mean, he already speaks like he’s part of us. I’m sure that if we put out a request, the Academy wouldn’t mind.”

“It’s too early.” Silverwing shook his head. “The kid has to return there. I just know that he still has many things to do. And we can’t risk it. If our enemies knew of his real potential, it could spark another great war.”

His colleagues were silenced by his words and none could refute it.

“He needs time to grow. But don’t worry. Once he matures, the kid will return here.” Silverwing smiled with confidence. “After all, the world out there will be his stage.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep