Chapter 217: Special Training

Chapter 217: Special Training

The special training was straightforward but intense.

The students were each given weighted rings by their coach, designed to add an extra challenge. The task? Run a total of 50 kilometers alongside seasoned soldiers.

It might sound brutal, but for these students, who were already in top physical shape, it was more of a test of endurance than anything else.

So, with the soldiers in the lead, the students marched confidently into the dimensional training field.

They were brimming with self-assurance, though the soldiers—oddly enough—seemed far less enthusiastic.

The instructors watched the students’ eagerness with smirks, secretly hoping the grins would stick around. It had been ages since they’d seen such bright, hopeful faces.

But Arix wasn’t buying into the optimism. She’d been through the instructors’ tricks before, so she stayed cautious as they began the run.

And sure enough, not long after, things started going sideways. Those who weren’t on guard soon found themselves either tumbling into hidden pits or dangling from trees with one foot caught in a snare.

"Where the heck did my friends go? They were right next to me a second ago!"

"Ugh, I hate heights!"

"Is it just me, or does this air feel..." One unlucky student didn’t even finish their thought before plummeting to the ground.



Some well-meaning students tried to help their fallen comrades, but the instructors had other ideas. He cranked up the weight of their rings by another 10 kilograms.

Now, with an extra 40 kilos strapped to their limbs, the 50-kilometer run suddenly felt a lot more daunting.

"Sir, I think there’s something wrong with my weight ring," one bewildered student complained to the instructor. But instead of fixing the issue, Spears barked back at them, "There’s nothing wrong with your ring, but there might be something wrong with your brain. Listen up! Cut the pointless sympathy. Your classmates are in training—they don’t need your interference."

"But sir, it’s not about sympathy. We’re teammates; we’re supposed to look out for each other," the student insisted, still not getting the point.

Spears nearly laughed in frustration. He crossed his arms as he replied coolly, "You think you’re helping them? You’re not. You’re just making things worse. If they don’t learn how to handle themselves in a crisis now, when will they? On the battlefield? When it’s too late?"

The student’s face went pale as the reality sank in. Sweating more now meant bleeding less later when it really counted. The instructor was right—their good intentions were doing more harm than good.

"I’m sorry, Coach. I didn’t realize," the student mumbled, lowering their head in shame.

"Good. Now, get back to running," Spears ordered, his tone a bit softer but still firm. The student nodded, determined to push through the training with a newfound focus.

On the military Lev, the special forces instructor chuckled and gave Spears a teasing nudge. "Another kind-hearted kid lost their innocence, thanks to you."

Spears raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. "With all that soft-heartedness, your hero must be Rexon Tylo, huh?"

The name dropped like a bomb. The special forces instructor’s face went dark. Rexon Tylo was notorious for nearly wiping out an entire mecha squad because he couldn’t keep his sympathy in check.

"Uh, I didn’t say anything," the instructor quickly backpedaled, realizing it was wiser to stay quiet.

"Yeah, typical. All talk, no action," Spears scoffed, then shifted his attention back to the trainees. In the mass of people, the military students were lagging far behind the special forces soldiers. Only a handful managed to keep pace.

Even though the special forces had more experience under their belts, the students from the five elite military academies were supposed to have greater potential.

Spears frowned. He hadn’t expected them to outshine the soldiers, but the gap was wider than he liked. Maybe he’d been too easy on them.

He made a mental note to crank up the intensity for their next round of training.

"Huh?"

Just as Spears was mulling this over, he noticed a few military students tearing up the field, nearly outpacing the special forces soldiers.

Two girls at the front were practically flying, leaving the others in the dust.

"Those two must be tight," Spears mused, watching Arix and Quinnie push each other to the limit. He was actually a bit impressed.

Arix, blissfully unaware of her instructor’s thoughts, was laser-focused on the race. If she’d known what he was thinking, it would’ve only added to the pressure.



"Arix, honey, you can’t shake me off!" Quinnie called out, dodging yet another trap and flashing a cocky grin at the girl beside her.

"Stop calling me that and back off," Arix shot back, irritation clear in her voice. She wasn’t bothering to hide her disdain.

Quinnie just laughed, unfazed. In fact, Arix’s anger only made her more captivating in Quinnie’s eyes.

"Oh, Arix, you’re even prettier when you’re mad," Quinnie said, her gaze burning with an intensity that was almost predatory.

Zane and Jaro, who were passing by, gave the two of them a curious glance.

It’s not that they were nosy; Quinnie’s lines were just too easy to misinterpret.

Jaro, as if something had just occurred to him, quietly leaned over to Zane and whispered, "Could they be in THAT kind of relationship I’m thinking of?"

Zane looked at his friend, who seemed to have only one thing on his mind, with a frustrated expression. However, before he could say anything, Quinnie suddenly glared at him with a wary look and said, "It’s you! Why have you been following us?"

Zane and Jaro were caught off guard.

"Zane? You know her?" Jaro asked, surprised and curious.

"I don’t," Zane hesitated, shaking his head.

Although he did remember this young woman who had once threatened him by drawing a line across her throat, they didn’t actually know each other.

Arix didn’t care whether they knew each other or not. Seeing an opportunity, she immediately made her escape.

She ran as if she were being chased by an insectoid.

It always took a lot to make someone like Arix, who’s obsessed with appearances, not even to admire someone good-looking. It showed just how deep her psychological fear of Quinnie ran.

"Arix!" Quinnie, unhappy to be abandoned, shouted as she chased after her. She gave Zane a fierce glare before running after Arix.

Zane was left slightly stunned by Quinnie’s glare, then he looked blankly at the young woman running away. ’Does this girl really dislike me that much? But have I ever offended her before? Hmm... do I even know her?’

"Zane, that’s not cool. The girl’s giving you flirty looks, and you still say you act like didn’t know her?" Jaro teased with a raised eyebrow.

Zane rolled his eyes. He didn’t want to criticize the girl, so he just looked at Jaro curiously and asked, "I really don’t know her, but didn’t you ask me before to get her opticomputer number? Shouldn’t you have known her already?"

"Zane, are you sure we’re talking about the same person?" Jaro asked, puzzled. Then Jaro continued to explain, "I was talking about the first girl who left, the little angel, not this fiery one."

When Zane realized it wasn’t Quinnie, his eyes flickered, and he finally just said, "Oh."



Meanwhile, on the other side...

After shaking off Quinnie, Arix couldn’t have been happier.

Breathing in the air of freedom, even the traps around her seemed charming.

These traps weren’t trying to trick her; they were just playing with her, really.

But her joy didn’t last long before she heard a voice behind her that made her skin crawl.

"Arix, wait for me!" Quinnie easily dodged the electrified net trap overhead and called out to Arix in a sticky-sweet voice.

But instead of stopping, Arix ran even faster, as if she had been injected with adrenaline.

Quinnie huffed in frustration and then quickened her pace.

Their chase caught the attention of others. The special forces soldiers were unfazed, merely thinking that these two military students were quite impressive.

On the military students’ side, Cirilla couldn’t help but notice her best friend, Arix, tearing down the field at top speed. Excited, she shouted, "Hey, girl, are we racing? I’m in!"

Drexel, meanwhile, caught sight of Arix running with a younger girl and figured they were just having fun. As Arix zipped past him, he waved and called out, "Arix, take it easy on her!"

Arix threw a fierce glare back at her clueless older brother. Grinding her teeth, she decided to save her frustration for later and kept running.