Something was definitely off.
I was a Private Second Class, so shouldn't this have been New Recruit Training? Instead, I was being forced to undergo training for the Space Raiders, the elite unit of the Space Marines. Everyone around me was either a Private or a Non-commissioned Officer.
After being rapidly treated with nanomachines, my head had been shaved bald, and I’d been thrown into the program wearing nothing but my underwear. Then, Pool Training started immediately. I threw on my fatigues and headed for the water.
The pool session was simple enough. All you had to do was grab some dumbbells and walk along the bottom of the deep end while holding your breath. Any attempt to surface for air meant punishment. If this had been a selection exam, that would have been an automatic disqualification.
Since we usually trained for repairing Humanoid Fighters in a total vacuum, this was child's play. It was basically the "survive after the Life Support System fails" routine. If you couldn't manage at least that much, you’d end up dead anyway. This was my standard level of training.
But something was definitely wrong.
Instructor Huma was there overseeing the drills. He was wearing a medical corset around his neck—an injury from when I’d hit him with a side choke.
"What is it, Private! What are you looking at!"
"Sir! It appears there is an H-beam engraved with 'Reserved for Private Second Class Leo Kamishiro Chronos' submerged at the bottom of the pool, sir!"
No matter how you looked at it, the thing was a structural steel beam from a skyscraper. It even had handles welded onto it.
"That's for your exclusive use," Huma barked.
"Isn't that just a roundabout way of telling me to die, sir?!"
"This is the decree of Her Majesty Galactic Empire Emperor Veronica! Her orders were to push Leo Kamishiro Chronos to the point of death!"
Uwaah... Wifey was seriously pissed off at me.
"Move it, now!"
He kicked me toward the water.
"If the rest of you lose to a Private Second Class, I'll kill you myself!"
"Yes, sir!" the others shouted.
Phew. I dove into the pool and grabbed the handles of the steel beam.
"Fungaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Gubobo. A few bubbles escaped as I exhaled. I was clearly out of practice; I shouldn't have let that air slip. I’d gotten soft.
I hoisted the H-beam onto my shoulder and heave-hoed. I walked along the bottom of the pool, enduring the low-oxygen environment. Distance didn't matter; I just paced back and forth across the floor, clearing my mind.
For some reason, the soldiers behind me kept dropping out one after another. Honestly, you guys will never manage an Atmospheric Entry on a bike if you’re this weak.
"You bastards! What do you think you're doing, losing to an idiot carrying a steel beam?! I'll kill you!"
I could hear Huma’s voice even at the bottom of the pool. Give me a break.
Before long, everyone else had dropped out. To make sure no one could complain, I did one more lap before setting the steel beam down and surfacing.
"Puh-hah! Ahahaha! That was a great workout!"
Ah, that felt good.
Huma lined the other soldiers up and started screaming at them. "You pieces of trash! Everyone, one hundred push-ups!"
I wasn't sure what was happening, so I tried to line up next to them to join in, but Huma kicked me back toward the pool.
"You! Just stay there and rest!"
"Yes, sir!"
For some reason, Instructor Huma was in a total rage.
"You should all be ashamed of yourselves. That idiot's day job is being a King!"
"Instructor Huma! My day job is being a pilot, sir!"
"Shut up, Private!"
Once I’d dried off and changed, we moved straight to a run—obstacles included.
"Yes, yes, sir..." I muttered.
"...Instructor Huma... why am I the only one carrying a cross, sir? And an H-beam one at that?"
"...Shut up, Private."
Ah, that 'shut up' actually had a hint of sympathy in it. I noticed "Idiot's Grave" was written across the cross in Isono's distinctive handwriting.
I joined the others on the run, cross in tow. Since it was physically impossible to wear the standard gear while carrying a massive steel cross, I was exempted from the rifle and rucksack. Hahaha! Well, it was all blank rounds anyway, so I didn't care.
And so, the training continued. I ran. Since this was the kind of training I did every day, I found myself humming along as I went. The steel beam was heavy, though.
Climbing a vertical wall was physically impossible with the cross, but Huma just gestured for me to use a belt to fix it to my back and keep going.
"Yes, sir!"
Funga! I jumped, scaled the wall, and leaped back down. There was a loud, metallic clank-clank sound, like a Humanoid Fighter on the move. The weight was clearly a bit much for the terrain.
Next, I saw a net. We were supposed to crawl forward under it, but the cross got snagged immediately. It was a physical impossibility.
...Hoh. I see. I undid the belt.
"Here goes!"
"Private Leo! S-Stop!"
Huma screamed through his megaphone, but it was too late. I hurled the cross. Oops, my hand 'slipped'.
The cross went spinning through the air. Chudoooon! It smashed right through the Rope Crossing Facility further down the course.
Whew. I proceeded to crawl under the net.
"Private, don't try to cheat! Are you messing with me?!"
For some reason, I got scolded. I felt like it was their fault for making a net I couldn't clear in the first place. Besides, the rope crossing would have been impossible with a steel beam anyway. The rope would have snapped!
"Enough! Just skip the things that are impossible!" Huma yelled.
Understood. I skipped the rope crossing—literally. I skipped past the wreckage of the facility on the ground.
Loon-tatta, loon-tatta♪
"Not that kind of skip! You'd better remember this for later!"
Yay, hyah-hoo!
The soldiers behind me were whispering, "Is he really human?"
I'm human, I swear!
The run concluded with a dash through a zone of rotating flamethrowers. This was one of my specialties. It's only scary because you try to avoid the flames. You just had to clear the area before your Personal Shield needed a recharge. This was nothing. It was a necessary skill for when you're performing an Atmospheric Entry on a bike, after all.
Hop, skip, and a jump. I made it through smoothly and reached the finish line. I set the cross down and took a breather.
While I rested, the elite troops surrounded Huma to protest.
"Are you telling us to do the same thing as that monster?!"
"No, well... he was definitely supposed to fail at the wall," Huma admitted.
I knew it; it really was just harassment.
"There's no way that's a King, right?! How can he say 'I've been lacking exercise lately' with a straight face?!"
"Was the King's Space Kaiju Legend actually all true?!"
"Is it true that if the Zork War hadn't happened, he was already guaranteed a spot in the Special Forces the moment he graduated from the academy?!"
Huma made a sour face. "It's true. He was slated to join the Strongest Special Forces of the Galactic Empire."
"Do you have to be a monster like that to get in?!"
The crowd of soldiers began to buzz with agitation.
"No," Huma barked. "It's not just his monster-like physical strength! He's a Combat Engineer and a pilot. He holds licenses for every kind of vehicle, including heavy machinery, he can handle Electrical Work, and his swordsmanship is on par with a National Tournament finalist! Where else could you put someone like that besides the Special Forces?! It's not that you have to be a monster to enter the Special Forces—it's that the Special Forces were the only place equipped to handle him!"
"But he was grumbling about how he'd wanted to be a lawyer and was wondering how it turned out like this..." one soldier noted.
"There's no way the military would let go of an asset like him! He's the only one who doesn't realize it. Just let him talk!"
Honestly, whatever. Can we just hurry this up?
I... am hungry...