The training ground sat in the mountains near Drisgen, managed solely for the purpose of giving Academy students real combat experience.

The entrance looked more like the start of a hiking trail than anything prestigious. When they approached it, a man with dead fish eyes stepped forward. The silver insignia pinned to his chest marked him as an Academy instructor.

“Attention, everyone. I’m Dave, and I’m the one in charge of today’s training session. Before we begin, there are some rules you need to know.” His flat, lifeless voice droned on. “As you already know, today’s training includes ten from the Swordsmanship Division and ten from the Magic Division, twenty in total. You’ll be working in pairs, chosen by drawing lots. Once assigned, no changes will be allowed.”

He paused and gestured toward the mountain trail. “Over the past two weeks, a total of eight training sessions have already been held here, and there have been no noteworthy safety issues. That said, students may use their own discretion if they wish to bring personal guards as a precaution. However, any penalties incurred for doing so will be their own responsibility.”

Do-Jin, standing a little off to the side among the servants, brightened at that part. Oh, this is perfect. I can just sit here and let the day roll by.

Students were told they could bring guards if they wanted, but nobles lived and died by their honor. Walking in with a guard would have been no different from announcing to the world that they were cowards.

No noble brat with half a spine is gonna do that.

Thinking back, Do-Jin realized the Licht family probably hadn’t hired him out of genuine concern for their bastard son anyway. More likely they just didn’t want their kid walking around without anyone at his side. That would’ve been embarrassing for the family name, so they slapped a temporary guard on him.

All that’s left is to wait here like a prop.

Do-Jin was just letting that happy thought settle in when Bill Licht raised his hand with the courage of a mouse trying to squeak.

“Um...”

“What is it, Bill?”

Dave’s bored gaze fell on him, and the boy flinched before stammering out his answer. “I... I would like to bring my escort.”

“Are you serious?” Dave let out a long, weary sigh. “Bill Licht, are you absolutely sure?”

“Yes, sir.”

Dave gave a deeper sigh and muttered, “Fine.” He then ignored him entirely.

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

Dave wasn’t the only one sighing at Bill’s choice. Do-Jin, who had been counting on a chance to take it easy, was now stuck hauling himself up a mountain. Although he hated every bit of it, there wasn’t a thing he could do about it.

“Other than Bill Licht, is there anyone else?”

Dave’s voice carried like he was openly asking if another coward wanted to humiliate themselves. That single jab was enough to set the students laughing under their breath, the kind of mean-spirited chuckles that made Bill shrink into himself until he looked like a dog that had been kicked one too many times.

“Then the penalty will fall on the group that Bill Licht belongs to.”

That one sentence was enough to make the entire Magic Division groan like they had just been served rotten food.

“Instructor Dave, forgive me, but are you saying the penalty doesn’t just apply to him personally, but also to whichever students end up in the same group as him?”

The student’s question was polite, but the glare in their eyes wasn’t. Dave didn’t even hesitate. He just nodded with a look that said, Of course, idiot, what else would it be?

“Do I look like a god to you?”

“What do you mean by that...?” the student hesitantly replied.

“I don’t have the ability to keep an eye on this entire training ground, which means that if a team includes someone who isn’t a student, I have no choice but to deduct points.”

Every Magic Division kid’s face twisted in disgust. The snickers aimed at Bill flipped into pure hostility in an instant, and the poor bastard went white as a sheet.

“D-Dave, sir, I’ll cancel the escort. I didn’t realize it would cause problems for the other students—”

“Enough.” Dave cut him off like he was swatting an annoying fly. “You’re responsible for your own choices and your own words. Don’t disappoint me again, Bill Licht.”

The chill in his voice was enough to shut Bill up on the spot. Even the rest of the class clammed up, save for one.

“This is unfair.” Xenia Bondrei stood tall, her noble arrogance clear in every movement while her eyes burned with a fire that felt far closer to defiance than duty.

Do-Jin snorted under his breath. Of course. Who else would stick her neck out now but the blonde bitch herself?

“I don’t see how it’s justified to punish a student simply because their partner happens to be a coward,” she continued.

Dave’s reply came back cold enough to frost glass. “Then don’t ever expect your allies to always be brave or useful. Sometimes they are a burden, sometimes they drag you under, and sometimes they are the very knife that betrays you. That is what it means to fight.”

Her lips pressed together hard enough to go white. Xenia didn’t really have an argument against that. Within the Empire Academy’s philosophy of survival and blood-earned strength, Dave’s words weren’t just true but were doctrine.

With nothing left to say, she stood motionless as the draw finally began. Swordsmanship students started first, pulling their numbers one by one. Bill ended up pulling a six.

When it came time for the magic students, every single one of them clutched their slips like they were holding their lives, each muttering silent prayers not to end up with six. As number after number came up, the crowd began to breathe easier. Then, it sank in. Only one number was left, and the last one standing was Xenia Bondrei.

“There’s no need for her to pull,” Dave said flatly. “The final number is obvious. Groups one through ten, prepare yourselves. You’ll enter the training ground in one-minute intervals. If things go to hell, fire the flare you’ve been given. For the next twenty-four hours, the number and grade of monsters you kill will determine your score. Do your best.”

Dave’s words washed over them, but Xenia never moved. Her gaze was locked onto Bill with the kind of cold fury that could flay skin. Bill stood there shaking like a criminal about to be executed.

From a distance, Do-Jin watched the kid trembling like some sinner about to be executed and thought, See what happens when you screw with my break, you little shit?

With a long sigh, he resigned himself to the fact that he was about to get stuck babysitting a cowardly little lordling.

***

Training for Group Six began with fireworks. Xenia, still fuming, outright announced she was going solo.

“Why should I drag along a cowardly bastard like you? Get lost somewhere I don’t have to see your pathetic face.”

She even drove her boot hard into Bill’s chest on the slope as she said it, sending him tumbling. Do-Jin shook his head as he watched her storm off, then helped the boy who had rolled to a stop at his feet.

“You alright?” he asked.

“Yes,” Bill muttered, looking pitiful with dirt and rotten leaves clinging to his clothes.

“What are you going to do now?” Do-Jin asked, glancing in the direction Xenia had disappeared.

Bill gave a bitter smile. “I’ll just do my best. I don’t want anyone else getting penalized because of me.”

In other words, he planned to grind monsters like crazy to make up for the lost points.

Great. And thanks to that, I get to keep hauling my ass up a mountain. Do-Jin swallowed a sigh and followed.

As they moved, Bill actually threw himself into the task. He kept scanning the ground, searching for monster footprints or droppings, trying to put into practice everything he’d learned at the Academy about tracking.

“Do you want me to give you a hand?” Do-Jin asked, more out of boredom than anything.

“No, this is an exam. That’d basically be cheating,” Bill said, shaking his head.

For all his nerves and cowardice, at least the kid was honestly trying.

Being too softhearted can get someone killed, but I’d still take this over some spoiled brat with a shitty attitude. Coming to that thought, Do-Jin couldn’t help but picture Xenia Bondrei’s face. Poor Muy Bondrei... The only kid he’s got turned out like that. No, wait. The apple actually didn’t fall far from the tree.

Something scratched at the back of his mind, like he was forgetting something important. Do-Jin wondered what exactly he was missing. He was trying to piece it together when Bill’s sudden shout snapped him back to reality.

Do-Jin looked over and saw the boy crouched down, grinning faintly while pointing to a set of tracks. Bill had actually managed to find something.

***

Despite his efforts, Bill didn’t find a single monster in the end. The kid had wandered the mountain until sundown, but he hadn’t so much as glimpsed a shadow.

At this point, it’s not bad luck. It’s like he’s deliberately avoiding monsters.

Do-Jin chewed on some dried rations while staring at Bill and couldn’t help but marvel at the boy’s cursed fortune. This wasn’t just any mountain. It was a training ground where the Academy regulated monster populations. Under normal circumstances, no one could walk a hundred steps without something showing its ugly face. Yet this kid had scoured the ground, followed every cracked twig and footprint, and still managed to miss them all.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll have to drag one out and shove it under his nose myself.

Bill sat across the fire, his face sagging with that pitiful look of a puppy left out in the rain, staring blankly into the flames. Do-Jin nearly felt sorry for him.

Suddenly, a high-pitched shriek ripped through the night. Bill snapped his head toward the sound, eyes wide and terrified. His hand flew to his sword hilt, but the blade rattled in his grip from how badly he was shaking. The boy’s heart probably wanted to run and help, but his legs were paralyzed by fear.

Do-Jin wasn’t so sentimental. Hearing something like that and then lying back down would only fuck with his sleep.

Pushing himself up, Do-Jin gave one glance at Bill and said, “Stay put. Wandering around right now could get you killed.”

“I-I should come with...”

Come with me to where, dumbass? You’d just slow me down.

Without sparing Bill another look, Do-Jin called, “Anemone.”

The sudden appearance of the massive wolf had Bill squealing like an idiot.

“Watch him,” he said, dumping Bill on her before heading off without a second thought.

The silver beast stared down at Bill with eyes full of disdain. The kid yelped and shuffled back, but that only served to offend the wolf even more.

She bared her fangs, voice a low growl. “Shut it. Keep squealing and I’ll take a chunk out of you.”

His knees nearly buckled as he backed up further, lips moving in a pathetic little prayer. He wasn’t even processing the fact that the wolf was talking. Fear had hollowed him out so badly that all he could do was pray his escort would come back soon and save his sorry ass.

***

Of course shit like this happens when kids go looking for monsters at this hour. Do-Jin clicked his tongue as he sprinted toward the sound.

The darkness was no ally. It was only because he had Silent Night that he could cut across a mountain trail like it was nothing. For an ordinary person, this mountain in the dead of night was nothing short of a death trap.

Even if that scream came from a monster attack, they probably aren’t dead. Bill said the students here are only second-years. No way the academy dumped something too dangerous in their lap. Worst case, maybe some nasty injuries.

Do-Jin also considered the possibility that whoever it was had simply tripped on a slope and screamed their lungs out. That was when a familiar stench hit his nose. It wasn’t the sharp tang of a shallow cut, but a thick, suffocating smell that came from losing more blood than a body was meant to.

Fuck me...

The knot in his gut told him something had gone horribly wrong. He picked up speed, careful but urgent. When he reached the spot, all he found was silence, along with two corpses lying there with their heads torn clean off.