An Unpleasant Sound

“Is everyone ready?”

“Yes!”

On the first day, the training in the Federation officially began.

Swoosh, swoosh─!

The sound of waves right in front of us, the sunlight that seemed like it would burn our skin black, and the sandy beach surrounding us – it was the first time receiving education in such an exotic environment.

“Then I will explain about the basic diving training!”

Perhaps because of this, the cadets were more enthusiastic about the class than usual. Everyone seemed motivated by the vibrant weather never seen in Astrakhan.

It’s beautiful.

And the same was true for me. After only seeing it in the game, actually experiencing the environment in reality was very refreshing.

“Ahh, it’s so warm…”

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah, it would be nice to play on the beach at a time like this!”

As Erika said, there was some regret that we couldn’t go play right away if we had come as tourists rather than cadet candidates, but this wasn’t bad either.

For me, training was a leisure activity that brought joy and pleasure.

“Now I will explain about the training equipment.”

Clatter─!

“This is what you will be wearing. It’s expensive equipment made with mana stones. The core of this training is to see how well you can handle this equipment, to test your skills.”

Gartel, wearing the equipment that perfectly fit his build, demonstrated by walking around on the ground.

Clank, clink─!

Gartel’s appearance, creaking with joints made of hard steel material, looked like a machine man.

“Are, are we really wearing that?”

“I’ve only seen this in pre-Great War strategy manuals…”

The cadets couldn’t hide their excitement at such an unfamiliar appearance. For them, who had been continuing boring theoretical classes every day, this was the first real education-like education.

It’s been a while.

While the children were experiencing a series of surprises, I alone was lost in nostalgia.

Having used equipment so similar to this countless times before, memories of the past became vivid and feelings of familiarity grew.

It was so much fun secretly carrying out confidential operations by diving into the sea or swimming in the deep sea with comrades.

Was it off the coast of the Gallia Republic?

I couldn’t forget the joy of that time when we hid in the sea for hours to ambush the Allied forces, and then engaged in a firefight with bullets raining in the darkness.

“Then take your bag according to your name tag.”

“Yes─!”

As soon as Gartel’s order fell, I stepped forward and grabbed a black-painted bag.

Screech, click─!

Just as I remembered.

Using my past knowledge, I put on the devices part by part in order.

Whirr──

When I finished putting on the mask connected to the oxygen tank to help with breathing, I had quite an impressive appearance.

Now I look like a proper soldier.

I was satisfied that my height increased due to the engine attached to the soles of my feet. Although the height difference with the other cadets didn’t decrease, somehow breathing the upper air felt refreshing.

“There are duck feet attached.”

“Does mana come out from here?”

Looking around, the cadets were full of amazement every time they touched a piece of equipment.

“Ye-Yena! Look at this.”

“Hmm?”

“I think we can swim with this!”

“You put it on backwards, Erika.”

“Ah…”

Erika was one of them.

“You wear it like this.”

“Mmm, thanks!”

I helped her put the duck feet on correctly facing forward, then approached where the candidates who had finished preparing were gathered.

“…Hey, don’t stick close.”

Thud─

As I was quietly waiting for Gartel to arrive like that, I frowned at Wolf who appeared from somewhere and bumped my shoulder as he passed.

“Tch.”

As soon as our eyes met, he frowned with one eye as if he’d seen something he shouldn’t have, and passed by without looking back.

His face showed no signs of remorse despite being publicly scolded by other children at the candidate welcome ceremony and being shown a huge difference in skill during the duel.

It had become so commonplace that I was indifferent, but I didn’t completely ignore it. I didn’t know what kind of mischief he might pull.

He might do something impulsive again during today’s diving training.

I shouldn’t let my guard down.

“Has everyone put it on?”

“Yes!”

“Then enter the water in order. You’ll start with basic training once you’re in anyway, so don’t rush in eagerly.”

After staring at the back of Wolf’s head, I carefully moved towards the beach following the instructor’s advice.

Swoosh, swoosh─!

As we got closer to the shore, the sound of crashing waves grew louder. The salty sea smell also became clearer, unnecessarily reminding me that this world was real.

Splash!

After a short while, I reached right in front of the shore and jumped in without hesitation. The temperature of the cold seawater enveloped my entire body.

“Puha──!”

It’s refreshing.

This is the feeling. The coolness of the waves that couldn’t be fully enjoyed in the game refreshed my body. It was a different pleasure from the outside where the sultry heat made body and mind languid.

I liked today the most among the recent training sessions. It would have been a perfect day if not for one drawback.

Tap, thud─!

Why is the water reaching the top of my head? I tried to see in front by repeatedly jumping off the bottom to dive and resurface countless times.

Thanks to the oxygen tank, there was no problem with breathing, but the goggles kept getting submerged in water, making it difficult to secure visibility.

Damn it.

While other male cadets had space secured above their chests, for someone as small as me, it was an impossible water level even though my height increased a bit thanks to the shoes.

“Hnngh, hello Yena!”

“Are you swimming?”

“Y-Yeah!”

Should I be satisfied that there’s a friend in the same situation?

Gurgle─

I looked at her moving her hands and feet busily with her head sticking out into the air, like a dog swimming.

“Erika, try using the diving equipment.”

“Huff huff, huh?”

“Use mana as if you’re stretching your feet.”

Seeing her look so pitiful, I couldn’t help but offer advice. Using mana is a privilege only for the awakened, isn’t it? There was no need to tire herself out by moving her hands.

If you activate the engine connected to the bottom of the duck feet with mana, swimming freely in the sea is no big deal.

“Wh-Whoa…!”

Bubble─

Hearing my words, Erika seemed to be trying to balance herself, as suddenly white bubbles rose crazily around her.

“I-It’s working!”

“See?”

As she did so, Erika, who had been unstable, began to find stability. She grasped the method right away after just a simple word – Erika has some talent too.

“Then, fighting.”

“You hang in there too, Yena!”

Only when I confirmed that she was finally floating on the sea did I stop the struggle of jumping with difficulty through the engine on the soles of my feet.

“Everyone, attention. I will now educate you on how to use the equipment.”

I turned my head to focus on Gartel, who was resuming the lesson.

“First, the engine on the soles of your feet uses the principle of mana amplification from mana stones…”

How boring.

But before long, I lost interest and just stared blankly at the sky. The basic operation methods the instructor was teaching were nothing more than review for me.

I’ve already memorized this to the point of tedium.

Isn’t the most important thing for a soldier participating in combat how well they understand the weapon they’re using? It was content I had learned to the point of memorizing by heart.

“Hmm…”

Because of that, I was bored until we started using our bodies in earnest.

“…Then from now on, we will conduct group sprint training, so the cadets whose names are called should follow in order, maintaining discipline.”

Finally.

After waiting for a few minutes, which felt like forever, Gartel finished the basic lecture and began calling names.

“Wolf von Streman, Yena Freud, Jorgo Wilhelm Antochoreski, Rina Victor Wilhelm Hohenzollern, Erika von…”

“Here we go.”

As they say reward comes after waiting, I finally took my eyes off the sky where seagulls were crying and raised my upper body.

“Let’s go together.”

“Okay!”

Having become quite adept at handling the equipment by now, I took Erika, who was striding across the water surface with a stable posture, and stepped in the direction the instructor was leading.

“It’s wide.”

“It sure is…”

The place we arrived at was a vast sea. While we had been educated in shallow water for safety until now, from here on it was the sea in the true sense of the word.

Swoosh, swoosh──!

The intensity of the waves was different from the start.

Even at a glance, the water color alternating between navy and black was definitely not a low height. Our feet obviously couldn’t touch the bottom.

We wouldn’t die thanks to the instructor’s protection and safety devices, but it was strong enough to be swept away if we weren’t careful. They must want to check our skills by creating an environment where movement is free.

Splash, splash!

I settled into the spot marked by buoys, cutting through the rough waves.

“Hello, Rina.”

“……”

Then Rina was waiting on the right side with her mouth tightly shut. Wolf was far away on the opposite side.

Did they arbitrarily form teams again?

It was an assignment with Gartel’s intentions obvious to anyone. Following the previous duel, all team members are participating simultaneously in this training too – it can’t be this coincidental.

Well, anyway, since they’ve set the stage, I was planning to spread my wings freely. It was like indirectly dueling with them after all.

I should make them realize my level by showing the power I possess.

Especially to Wolf.

“Yena, if I win, will you let me touch your chubby cheeks?”

“Sure.”

“Oh, ohh! I’ll try my best!”

While chatting idly with Erika who was waiting on the left side, I concentrated a large amount of mana so I could start at any moment.

“Is everyone ready?”

“Yes!”

Soon after,

“…Start!”

The moment I heard the instructor’s words,

Whoosh─!

I released mana as if exploding it and sprinted at a devastating speed, like a hungry shark seeing a fish.

Crack!

Until I heard an unpleasant sound.