TSMRG 37

Chapter 37

The trainee dormitories prepared at the Laingrime main estate [Banapen] were equipped with facilities far superior to most luxury hotels.

Showers, locker rooms, lounges, dining halls, and more.

Buildings designed solely so one could focus on sword training and refinement, maintaining the best possible condition.

Shwaaa—

‘The water’s nice and hot, just right.’

After pushing his body to the limit for the first time in a while, Luin finished a hot shower. A deep drowsiness spread through him, accompanied by the refreshing, clean sensation of a thoroughly washed body.

He slowly dried off, then changed into the freshly prepared Laingrime trainee uniform.

It was a comfortable black outfit, both top and bottom, with a red longsword emblem on the chest symbolizing candidate swordsmen of Laingrime.

On the left shoulder was a dark yellow epaulet.

‘So this replaces the rank cords for now?’

Laingrime swordsmen wore cords on their shoulders, with the number indicating rank—from the lowest first cord to the tenth cord of a Palace Lord.

Except for the supreme master, Northern Sword Duke Daemon, every swordsman’s position could be identified by these cords.

Trainees, however, displayed their status with epaulets instead.

Creak—

Luin stepped out of the locker room and glanced up at the now-darkening sky.

Behind him stood the grand dormitory, palace-like in size, capable of housing at least hundreds at once.

‘Way too much space for just thirty-two of us.’

As he nodded, convinced his suspicion was correct, the Sword Spirit spoke.

[Hey, Luin. Something’s been bothering me. What did you mean about competing with those who were eliminated?]

‘What do you mean, what did I mean?’

[Back at the training ground, that head instructor guy said only the elite, including you, would be trained. But then you suddenly said there’d be competition with the dropouts… I’ve been racking my brain, and I just don’t get it.]

Luin couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head at the spirit’s serious question.

‘Master, must you be so earnest about something like this?’

[Of course I must! It’s confusing!]

As the spirit squawked, Luin sighed and explained.

‘It’s just a simple deduction. There were far too many instructors compared to the number of trainees. They also said dropouts and additional passers would be selected through upcoming results. What do you think that implies?’

[…One-on-one training?]

‘No. It means those who already lost trainee status may still get another chance later.’

[…Really?]

Still sounding doubtful, the spirit muttered, but Luin didn’t bother elaborating further.

Just then—

Bweeep!

A loud siren blared.

Crack!

“Hm?”

In an instant, the entire dormitory’s lights went out, plunging everything into pitch darkness.

[What in the world is this?!]

‘Who knows.’

[An enemy raid? Night attack? No, this is Laingrime—there shouldn’t be any enemies… Wait! Could this be some initiation?!]

“….”

The spirit’s endless chatter was noisy, but Luin ignored it, scanning the surroundings with a sharp gaze.

“What the hell?!”
“Kyahhh!”
“Damn it! Quit screaming, you’re making it worse!”

Shouts, chaos, and screams erupted from all sides. Clearly, nobody had expected this.

Then, a familiar voice echoed.

「This is a live situation, live situation. Night training begins now. Tonight’s drill is ‘Target Elimination.’」

It was none other than Harken, the devil instructor in charge.

「From this moment, the 964th batch of trainees are all designated targets. In ten minutes, instructors will be deployed to eliminate you.」

The announcement was a hammer blow to the resting trainees.

“What the—sudden training?!”
“Elimination? What the hell does that mean?!”
“And why’d they cut the lights?!”
“Damn it, I just got out of the shower!”

Harken’s voice cut through their protests, merciless.

「The yellow epaulet on your shoulder is your life. For the next hour, instructors will attempt to take it. If it’s taken, you are considered ‘dead.’ Good luck surviving.」

His demonic tone remained until the end.

“Damn… our lives?”
“Hide the epaulet! That’s the target!”
“Can’t see anything—it’s too dark!”
“Crap, where’s my uniform?!”

Bang! Crash!

The dormitory fell into complete pandemonium.

Meanwhile—

‘…This is fun.’

Luin smirked, intrigued by Harken’s methods.

A cool night breeze brushed across his face, refreshing.

“So if I lose this, I’m dead?”

Glancing lightly at the yellow epaulet, he nodded with a grin.

“This time too, I’ll be first place.”

The so-called target elimination training.

Trainees had to evade instructors for one hour to survive.

But to Luin, who carried the memories and experiences of Subject 1872—

“Like eating soup lying down.”

Shff—

His body melted into the shadows and disappeared.

Time passed.

「Bate, eliminated.」
「Aileta, eliminated.」

Harken’s voice announced names, one after another.

「Kaelos, eliminated.」
「Andrew, eliminated.」

Within moments, countless trainees were declared out. The once peaceful dormitory turned into hell itself.

Thudthudthud—

“Run! Damn it, run!”
“Uwaaaah!”

Screams and cries echoed in the pitch-dark building. But such noise only excited the instructors, the hunters.

“Running won’t help.”
“Found you.”

Masked instructors closed in, like grim reapers come to claim souls.

“No, please! Aaaah!”

「Pawell, eliminated.」
「Gern, eliminated.」
「Yurik, eliminated.」

Even those ranked highly in the previous training were now falling.

From the shadows where chaos reigned, two eyes gleamed.

[…] Kukuku. Quite the entertaining drill.

The Sword Spirit chuckled, and Luin nodded.

‘Certainly not light training.’

After exhausting all energy with running drills earlier, to launch a surprise night raid now?

‘This method is exactly like that rock-brained Harken.’

Just as Luin was recalling the man—

「Maylin, eliminated.」

“…What?”

The unexpected name made him pause.

[Hm? Isn’t that the blonde girl?]

‘Yeah, it is.’

Shocked at Maylin’s sudden elimination, Luin tilted his head.

“Why do this now?! I was washing my hair! Look, I didn’t even rinse the soap out!”

A voice full of indignation rang from afar.

Luin smirked without needing to check who it was.

“Of course. That explains it.”

Knowing her potential, he understood she wouldn’t fall that easily—there had to be a silly reason.

“I’ll have to tease her about this later… Hm?”

Suddenly, a strange presence caught his attention.

Tap-tap-tap.

Three figures darted from the opposite hallway.

“Where’d he go?”
“Not in the rooms—maybe hiding?”
“Tch. Sneaky bastard, like a rat.”

Each held a sturdy club.

‘Those guys…’

They were the ones who had loudly sworn to “teach him a lesson” earlier at the training ground.

‘So that’s the presence I’ve been feeling all this time.’

Their weapons and attitude left no doubt—they weren’t after him with good intentions.

“Focus. Tonight’s our only chance.”
“I’m so disappointed in Andrei. Even if rumors are bad, I still had hopes. Turns out he’s a coward…”
“Hey, don’t forget—we’re only ready thanks to Andrei’s intel. He even mapped out the instructors’ patrols. He’s still useful, haha.”
“First, we smash that bastard Luin. Then Andrei’s next.”
“Oh, so now you’re assassins, huh?”
“Come on, if something happens tonight, who’s gonna know if it was us or the instructors? Perfect chance to ‘discipline’ Andrei too. Just crack his skull open!”
“Harsh, but I like it.”

Their cruel laughter narrowed Luin’s eyes.

[So they’re gunning for you.]

‘What can I say? Being popular is tough.’

[Kuhaha! That’s one kind of popularity I’d never envy, boy!]

While the spirit laughed, Luin stayed silent, processing the intel he’d just heard.

‘So Andrei gave them information?’

He remembered giving Andrei a harsh lesson during the sword assembly earlier.

‘Guess that wasn’t enough.’

But that wasn’t the real issue now.

The key point—

‘He knew tonight’s surprise drill was coming, and even the instructors’ routes. Meaning… he’s hiding something big.’

His interest in Andrei was growing.