"A tour?"
Nezumi hesitated, then forced himself to perk up, climbed out of bed, and left the dormitory with Smoker.
He had spent so long dreaming of joining the Elite Training Camp. Now that he had finally qualified to come here, how could he not take a look around?
The autumn air was refreshingly crisp.
Along the way, they encountered plenty of fellow recruits with the same idea. People were everywhere, their young faces full of curiosity and anticipation for the life ahead.
"Huh? Smoker, look over there."
Nezumi suddenly noticed something and pointed northeast. "That's the training ground entrance, right? Why are so many people crowding around over there?"
"Looks like a noticeboard."
Smoker frowned and casually stubbed out his cigarette. "Probably has rules for new recruits posted on it or something. Come on, let's take a look too."
His guess was correct.
There were indeed instructions for new recruits on the noticeboard, but that was not what had drawn the crowd. It was the list beside them.
The list was yellowed, its edges curling. Clearly, it had not been replaced in years.
It detailed every record holder since the Marine Headquarters Elite Training Camp had been established in the year 1490 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
"Highest absence record: Kizaru, 97 days."
That was the very first entry.
"Who's that?"
Nezumi's puzzled voice came from beside him.
"The commander of the G2 Branch, Mr. Kizaru. He's an Admiral candidate too."
Smoker's eye twitched. Damn, wasn't that practically dancing on the edge of expulsion?
He skipped that entry and looked down at the remaining records.
"Highest strength record: Romanov Noah!"
"Highest endurance record: Romanov Noah!"
"Highest speed record..."
"Highest hand-to-hand combat record..."
"Longest winning streak in the swordsmanship arena..."
Apart from the first entry, every record belonged to the