Our training was pure chaos.
Since we needed to see results as quickly as possible, we conducted everything through VR games. Current military simulators lacked data for ballistic weaponry, so we had to substitute them with games from an older era.
Swordsmanship followed the same logic.
We hammered out our forms in VR. Once you’ve trained to a certain level, gained some actual combat experience, and then practiced your forms until you’re ready to vomit, you finally begin to understand their importance. It’s all about the process of learning how to release unnecessary tension.
Once we finished our kata, I sparred with Melissa. She beat me to a pulp, over and over again.
"Am I... really that weak?" I asked.
Melissa patted my shoulder. "Captain, your sense of fear is basically glitched. You move exactly the same way in a real fight as you do in a game. Most people can't do that; they’re either too scared or in too much pain. You’re not weak in the games—it’s just that you’re freakishly strong in reality."
"Eh...?"
"Look, Captain, even if your arm gets broken, you’ll just keep punching with the broken one. You keep fighting whether you’ve been shot or slashed. Even if you take a fatal wound, you’ll try to get in one last spiteful blow as long as your heart is still beating. That’s not how humans act. That’s the world of wild beasts."
"But I’m still getting thrashed by those Imperial Guard veterans."
"Well, that’s because you aren't actually trying to kill each other. Besides, your attack patterns are limited. From the veterans' perspective, you’re probably easy to read. Even I can win as long as it’s just sparring. ...Well, weapon sparring, anyway. If we expanded the scope to general close-quarters combat, I think you’d give them a run for their money. Your proficiency with any single weapon is less than third-rate, but the sheer variety of weapons you can use is insane."
Is she Moto●? Is it ●be-sensei?!
He’s so "guard-ful!" It really is Moto●-sensei!
"...By the way, are you actually praising me?"
"I am. Fighting like a beast is exactly what ancient martial artists aimed for. In a sense, Captain, you’ve reached the ultimate truth. As someone who aspires to the way of the sword, I’m so jealous it’s driving me crazy."
"If you say so..."
That last part felt a bit like lukewarm pity, but I knew I had to keep at it.
I still hadn't been able to get in touch with my wife. She wasn't as durable as the rest of us, so her treatment was taking time.
"Ah, you're thinking about another woman, aren't you?"
"Sorry."
"It’s fine. It’s about Her Highness, right? Of course you're worried."
"My bad..."
"I said it’s fine! More importantly, let’s play some more."
By my wife’s order, VR games were officially recommended as part of our training. The days of everyone lining up to practice forms alongside the Imperial Guard were long gone. Now, we had to learn how to move in a real environment as fast as possible.
Once my break with Melissa was over, the plan was for everyone to jump into a round of Siege Chanbara. To prepare for potential battles against humans, we also played the "Police Map" in the same game. It was a simulation titled Post-World Cup: Hooligans vs. Police.
The hooligan side threw bricks and Molotov cocktails... the realism of the situation was a bit too much!
"What's with that look? You look like you’ve attained enlightenment," Melissa noted.
"Yeah. I was just thinking about the impermanence of all things."
As we engaged in that brain-dead conversation, the alarm blared.
"Lord Groom, we’ve found the civilians."
I wondered for a moment if they had been driven into a mine again, but the situation here was better.
"It appears the residents fled into the subway."
"The subway?! Man, this place really is a metropolis..."
There were no subways back in my family’s Marquis House territory. We had surface-level freight lines, but even those were horribly outdated. Besides, the family didn't have the funds for massive public works projects.
"According to the files Lord Groom discovered, the subway system was designed to double as a shelter," the veteran explained. "The regulations state it is the designated evacuation site for emergencies."
"So the reason we couldn't find anyone was..."
"They were likely underground the whole time."
So they had predicted the Zork would show up. They really had known.
"And the Duke?"
"Status unknown."
I see. Was he taking command from the underground? Or was he just holed up there, hoping the war with the Zork would end quickly? There was always the theory that he wasn't thinking anything at all... but this wasn't my family's territory. That seemed unlikely.
"What's the call, Lord Groom?"
"Don't we have to go? If we rescue them, we can claim the moral high ground."
"Understood. Will you join us, Lord Groom?"
"I’m going. I’m the one who suggested this mission, after all."
And so, we set off for an underground exploration where our exclusive machines would be useless.
An above-ground station stood in the center of the capital city. Its entrance was sealed tight by a heavy shutter.
"Engineering Squad, give me a circular saw."
"Coming right up."
I took the beam circular saw and flicked the switch. The fact that it was called a "circular saw" despite being a beam weapon didn't make much sense anymore. I suppose designs that prioritize ease of use are hard to phase out.
Sparks flew as I pressed the blade against the shutter. In reality, unlike a steel blade, the "sparks" were just the debris being cleared away as the beam vaporized the metal. It was a state-of-the-art thermal cutter, so I made short work of the barrier.
All that was left was to grab the edge with a pair of pincers and pull. With a screeching, tearing sound, the shutter was gradually peeled away. Normally, we could have just smashed it open with an armored vehicle or humanoid heavy machinery, but with refugees inside, we had to be careful.
With the shutter cut, we finally moved inside.
"No wires! No traps!" a male student shouted, reporting to the Imperial Guard. He was learning how to spot traps through hands-on experience.
"Listen well, students. Traps are not always in plain sight," a veteran lectured. "Take those sweets left on that table, for example. The very moment you pick them up—"
The boy broke into a cold sweat as the old man yelled, "BOOM!" at the top of his lungs.
"Be careful. Coins, games, toys, sweets—a master of traps will lace the very things you’d reach for without thinking."
Terrifying!
"Don't touch anything recklessly," I warned. Human malice truly was a frightening thing.
"Speaking from experience," the veteran continued, "I believe the traps here will be divided into two categories. The first is for pirates who came to scavenge—those are standard. The problem is the second category: traps meant for the Zork. If it were me... I’d rig the corpses of our fallen comrades. Those things eat humans, after all."
An even more horrific thought.
"Therefore, should you find a body, do not touch it. Report it immediately to us, the Imperial Guard."
The tension in the air became stifling. Although they were being protected, the students were finally realizing that they were in a real war zone.
Where are you, Duke?
The atmosphere was so grim and serious that I felt like I was already about to buckle.