My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros’ Obsession

Discharge D-2877.

From that day on, I began to gradually adapt to platoon life—a life that had always made me want to desert.

But lately, my biggest worry had shifted to something else entirely.

"Hey! Sword training starts now! Get up, everyone!"

At Leon’s shout, we grabbed our swords and quickly headed to the training field.

My biggest concern these days was survival.

Can I keep living like this?

In the Border Defense Army, the most critical period for survival is the first two years. Once you get past that, you’re unlikely to die to monsters just because you lack skill.

Yuri told me that since I’d survived a dragon attack, as long as I kept a strong mind and trained diligently, I could survive against most monsters.

But that was pure luck.

The original Salvia died, after all, so I had to work even harder to avoid the same fate.

To be honest, the fact that I was still alive felt like a miracle in itself.

Even though I was an Arkon, I couldn’t compare physically to the male Arkon soldiers.

Excluding myself, there were currently only two other female soldiers in the unit:

April, a genius who could wield plant-attribute aura.

And Yuri, who was taller, stronger, and far more skilled with a sword than I could ever hope to be.

Meanwhile, I had no special aura, no exceptional physical abilities, and no outstanding techniques.

Sure, I memorized monster information faster than others thanks to my knowledge of the original story, but that advantage is useless now. Eventually, everyone catches up.

Damn it. The more I think about it, the closer death feels.

"Hey, Salvia. What are you up to?"

A casual voice called out from behind me. I turned to see its owner and quickly responded.

"Altair, sir?"

Altair, a first-class private from the 78th cohort.

With his blue hair and blue eyes, he was a swordsmanship genius and three years my senior. He was also a peer of Winter and Yuri.

Though his official cohort was the 378th, in this unit, only the last two digits were used—so he was called "78th." My official cohort was the 390th, but everyone just called me "90th."

And the 78th cohort stood out in particular.

Winter, Altair, and Yuri. Winter, the ice-aura genius who was perfect at everything. Altair, the swordsmanship prodigy. Yuri, with physical abilities that rivaled even the men. Together, the 78th was considered a "genius cohort."

Come to think of it, their appearances matched their reputations. Winter with his black hair and gray-blue eyes, Altair with his blue hair and blue eyes, and Yuri with her black hair and black eyes—they could pass as a "Cool Mint Trio."

This is a good opportunity.

Since I’d run into Altair, a member of the genius 78th, I figured I might as well ask for advice.

"Sir Altair, may I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Unlike Winter and Yuri, who were cool and reserved, Altair was laid-back, approachable, and always quick to smile.

"So, um… did you become so strong just by doing the standard swordsmanship training in the unit?"

I wanted to know if he had any unique training methods.

"Yeah. I just stuck to the basics."@@novelbin@@

"Really?"

"Would I lie? Thrusts, eight-directional slashes, blocks—just the basics."

That’s like saying you studied by only reading the textbook.

Maybe Altair was just a natural-born genius. I stared at his blue eyes in disbelief.

"Oh, but I did do a lot of those basics."

"…How much training did you do?"

"A thousand slashes in each direction every day, plus a thousand thrusts…"

Damn it. So he wasn’t just reading the textbook—he memorized the whole thing.

I shook my head and stepped away from him. Training like that was impossible for me.

As I was about to leave, Altair spoke again.

"You’re looking for a way to get stronger, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"…I think Winter might… Never mind."

"Sorry, what?"

"Nothing. You’ll figure it out eventually."

He waved me off dismissively, leaving me to sigh in frustration.

Great. If I keep up this brutal training, maybe I’ll become half-decent someday. Damn it…

The unit’s training was always ridiculously hard—that was the real problem.

Still, hoping to find some help, I started asking others for advice.

"Yuri, how can I get stronger?"

"Just train your swordsmanship harder."

"No matter how much I practice, I’m not improving."

"Really? Let me see."

I demonstrated what I’d learned in swordsmanship, but Yuri just looked at me with an unimpressed expression.

"Salvia, don’t tell me you can’t break that log with your strength?"

"With strength alone? You can break a log with pure strength?"

"Why are you so weak?"

Her blunt words made me want to bang my head against the wall.

Hey, I was already much stronger than an average adult man!

Why are the standards here so ridiculously high?!

Eventually, I gave up on Yuri and, in desperation, asked Isina for advice.

"Salvia, you need to read the monsters’ movements."

"How do I do that…?"

"Hmm, doesn’t it just come naturally?"

Damn it. Of course, the enigmatic mastermind sees the world differently than the rest of us.

How am I supposed to read monster movements?!

The more I think about it, the more this highly advanced fantasy world feels like a cult.

In the end, I couldn’t get any useful advice from anyone and had no choice but to keep slogging through the endless, grueling training.

"Is that how you call that a sword? Are you lazy? No strength in your arms? Want me to make them completely useless?"

Damn it. I want to desert…

I forced my aching arms, which were screaming in protest from the repetitive movements, to lift again and continue the basic drills.

This damned life as a rookie…

“Alright, five-minute water break! Training resumes after that!”

The announcement of a break brought immediate relief, and the senior officers disappeared. As soon as they were out of sight, I let my arms fall limply to my sides and let out a deep sigh.

“No matter how much I practice, I’m not improving….”

I was two months into my life with the Border Defense Army.

In that time, I had participated in three monster subjugation missions. Apart from the first dragon incident, all of them had involved third-class monsters, meaning that as long as I followed the seniors’ instructions carefully, I could survive with my head still attached.

But this fragile peace wouldn’t last forever. Sooner or later, I’d have to face second-class monsters, and I needed to improve my skills before that day came.

As I sat slumped in exhaustion, a shadow fell over me.

“You.”

“Winter, sir?”

Winter was standing over me, his cold gray-blue eyes fixed on my face. I wasn’t sure what he was about to say to me, but his gaze was enough to make me scramble to my feet.

“You’re not suited to wield a sword.”

“Sorry… what?”

I stared at him with a dumbfounded expression, but his face didn’t betray the slightest change as he continued.

“You should use a different weapon.”

“Ah, well… the thing is…”

In the unit, there were a few soldiers who used weapons other than swords.

The most common alternative was a gun. Even Officer Elliot wielded a massive gun, and among the privates, both Carrot and El used firearms.

There were also soldiers like Sergeant Brave, who wielded an enormous axe, or Officer Chris, who used a long spear.

However, that kind of specialization was usually reserved for those with more experience. Recruits were initially assigned swords as their standard weapon, and swordsmanship training dominated our drills.

Switching to a different weapon wasn’t a matter of personal preference either. Seniors had to judge that you were far more talented with another weapon than with a sword before it could happen.

“But right now, I have to use a sword, don’t I?”

“It’s a waste of time.”

Winter’s cold gaze didn’t waver as he turned and gestured for me to follow him.

Without knowing why, I trailed after him. He led me straight to the shooting range.

Since it was break time, a few privates were lounging around, but they all turned to watch as Winter strode in.

“El, come here for a moment,” Winter called out.

“Winter, sir?”

El, a private of lower rank than Winter, looked confused but obediently approached, cradling his gun like a precious treasure. Nobody dared to let go of their weapon in front of seniors—it would only invite more "violence and fear."

“Hand the shotgun to Salvia.”

“Uh… is that okay?”

“She has potential.”

At Winter’s confident words, El stopped questioning and handed me his shotgun. He looked as if he assumed Winter must have orders from higher up.

The shotgun felt a bit oversized for me, and my hands trembled slightly as I took it. Despite its large, brown body, it was surprisingly lighter than I had expected.

Right, this world doesn’t have mass-produced military rifles yet.

In this romance fantasy world, guns were still underdeveloped for military use, and most Arkons preferred swords because they were better suited to channeling aura.

Still, some soldiers, like El, chose firearms if they felt it suited them better.

Winter led me to the spot where El had been sitting. A target stood a short distance away, presumably for practice.

“Press the stock against your shoulder and lean forward. No, further.”

Winter adjusted my stance until I was in the correct position. He even demonstrated how to load the bullets himself.

How does he know how to handle a gun so well?

Winter was supposed to specialize in swords, yet his precision and knowledge made it seem like he could use anything—even axes or cannons. And honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he could.

“I heard your memory’s good. You can remember this, right?”

“Ah… yes, sir.”

It seemed my reputation for quickly memorizing monster information from the original story had spread.

But was it really okay for me to handle a gun here?

I recalled a scene from the original story where Winter had a conversation with the heroine, Dalin:

“Can’t I use a gun?”

“No, you can’t.”

“Aw, is it because I’m lacking?”

“…No. Guns are dangerous. I’m saying this for your sake.”

He had even snatched the gun away from Dalin, warning her against using it.

But here he was, handing me a weapon he had deemed too dangerous for the heroine. Was this discrimination between extras and heroines?

Well, I could understand why he had stopped Dalin. She was a walking disaster, and letting her handle a gun would have led to an accidental massacre.

As I was lost in my thoughts, Winter began explaining how to infuse aura into a gun.

“If you channel aura into the bullets, they’ll have great destructive power. But the time frame to do that is too short. Instead, we surround the entire gun with aura to muffle the sound.”

“You mean to block the sound?”

I tilted my head in confusion. I hadn’t been given any earplugs or other noise-canceling gear.

I thought guns were supposed to be really loud.

Apparently, Arkons had a way to block the noise without needing ear protection.

“Visualize enveloping the entire gun—except for the muzzle—in a layer of aura.”

“Can you channel aura into things other than swords?”

“We start with swords because they’re easiest to visualize. But we can imbue anything with aura.”

I didn’t fully understand his explanation, but I followed his instructions and focused on surrounding the gun with aura. If I failed, I figured "violence and fear" would take care of me.

Surprisingly, coral-colored aura began to glow around the shotgun almost instantly.

So… it works.