Joining the Corps

The Training Corps camp stood near Trost District, close to a forest.

The camp had plenty of training equipment and spacious grounds.

Today, more than two hundred new recruits were undergoing inspection.

Dressed in their Training Corps uniforms, they felt a strange sense of pride, even without their Omni-Directional Mobility Gear. From the moment they put on those uniforms, they were no longer livestock for Titans to slaughter, but soldiers with the power to fight back.

The two hundred-odd recruits stood in formation, hands behind their backs, heads high and chests out.

Before them, a bald man in an instructor's uniform, who looked like someone best not crossed, roared, "The induction ceremony for the 104th Training Corps will now begin! I will be your head instructor! Keith Shadis!"

Yago had been staring straight ahead, but suddenly, a faint smell of potato drifted into his nose. He turned to look. "What?!"

At some point, a female recruit with a ponytail had pulled a potato out from inside her clothes. A potato...

"She... are people really this bold these days?" Yago felt like he had been living under a rock.

Instructor Keith continued his speech without pause. "I do not welcome you here! Until now, you have been nothing but livestock living inside the walls, fit only to serve as Titan feed! Over the next three years, we will train you into warriors capable of truly fighting Titans! Three years from now, when you face the Titans again, will you remain feed, become the glorious bulwark protecting the king, or become glorious warriors fighting for humanity's future? That decision is yours!"

His words fired up many of the recruits. Eren immediately resolved to become a warrior and drive out every last Titan!

Meanwhile, Yago had completely let his mind wander. His attention was entirely on Potato Girl as she peeled the whole potato with astonishingly practiced, flawless movements. He was awestruck. With skills like that, she could sneak food in class without ever worrying about a teacher catching her.

Suddenly, a chill ran down Yago's back. There it was again-that feeling of being watched. His gaze swept around, and he soon noticed a short girl.

Her pale blond hair was tied in a bun. She had half-lidded, pale blue eyes, a high nose bridge, and delicate features, but an icy air that warned strangers to stay away surrounded her.

The girl was staring at Yago. Her gaze seemed casual, yet it made him break out in a cold sweat, as though something terrifying had set its sights on him.

Strange. Why is she staring at me? Is it because I'm too handsome? Yago thought shamelessly. Of course, he remained on his guard. He had never felt this kind of danger before. This girl was definitely no ordinary person.

By then, Instructor Keith had finished his speech and was personally moving through the ranks. Every so often, he grabbed a recruit and bellowed questions about their name, where they came from, and what they were doing here. His ferocity frightened some of the more timid recruits so badly that they could barely string their words together.

This was the Training Corps' unique intimidation ritual, intended to make the recruits reject their former, cowardly selves and become proper soldiers.

Unfortunately, the slightly built Armin was the first to be thrown to the wolves.

"You! What's your name?"

Armin was so nervous that his voice trembled, but he persisted with the salute he had just learned: his right hand clenched into a fist, palm facing upward, held before his left breast, and his left hand behind his back. It signified offering one's heart to the king. "Sir! I'm Armin Arnold from Shiganshina District!"

"Is that so? Who gave you that ridiculous name? Your parents?"

"My grandfather did, sir!"

"Then, Arnold, tell me why you joined the Training Corps." Keith's grim eyes stayed fixed on Armin.

Armin swallowed nervously, shut his eyes, and shouted, "To do my part for humanity's victory!"

Perhaps satisfied with that answer, Keith stopped tormenting Armin. After ordering him to turn around, he turned and roared at another girl whose face was covered in freckles.

Keith did not yell at everyone, however. He spared the recruits who already looked mature and composed any lengthy dressing-down. Some of them, for instance, had come from Shiganshina District back then. People who had lived through hell on earth always carried themselves differently. At least they were far calmer than ordinary recruits. After all, they had actually seen Titans.

"Who are you?"

"Sir! I'm Thomas from Trost District.

Wagner!"

"Too quiet! Are you a girl?"

"Sir! I'm..."

This intimidation left plenty of recruits at a loss. One girl named Hannah was so frightened by Instructor Keith's shouting that she cried out, "Sir! I'm less than livestock!"

"I'm Jean Kirstein from Trost District! My goal is to join the Military Police Brigade and live in the interior!"

The boy named Jean had voiced what many were thinking. Plenty of recruits trained themselves half to death just to join the Military Police Brigade, with its comfortable conditions, and enjoy a good life.

"Oh, you want to join the Military Police Brigade?" Keith gave Jean a sinister look, then hooked his leg out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground in pain.

"You can't even take that? And you want to join the Military Police Brigade?"

Yago was now completely absorbed in Potato Girl's eating show. Seriously, how had watching her made him hungry?

Meanwhile, the aloof girl with pale blond hair was still staring at him, but Yago no longer cared. Let her look. It wasn't as though he would lose a piece of flesh over it.

A little later, Keith suddenly hoisted a recruit up. How to put it? This recruit was fairly eye-catching. First, there was his hair, cropped so short that his scalp showed through. Then there was the fact that he had used the wrong hand to salute. He was Connie Springer, from the southern region of Wall Rose.

Keith's gaze turned terrifying as he stared at Connie, whom he had lifted by the head with both hands. Tears sprang from Connie's eyes at the pain. "Springer, you've got the salute backward. We taught you right at the start that this salute symbolizes offering your heart to humanity. Is your heart on the right side?"

"Pfft." Connie's face was so contorted that Yago couldn't hold back a laugh. Then he realized his mistake and quickly shut his mouth.

The laugh reached Instructor Keith's ears. He dropped Connie and walked straight over to Yago, looming above him and looking down.

"What are you laughing at? And who are you?"

Yago immediately straightened his back, pressed his right fist over his left breast, and answered loudly, "Sir! I'm Yago Norman from Shiganshina District! I joined the Training Corps to gain the strength to protect everything I want to protect!"

"An excellent answer!" Keith said. "But remember, you will show your instructor respect!" With that, he threw a punch at Yago's stomach.

Yago reacted quickly, dropping his right hand and catching Instructor Keith's fist.

Instructor Keith frowned and tried to pull his fist free, only to discover that this recruit was astonishingly strong. Yago had clamped down on his fist, and for a moment, Keith could not break loose.

But an instructor was still an instructor. Keith simply redirected his fist with the movement, twisting his body as he grabbed Yago's other arm, intending to lock it behind him. Yago responded in turn. He had learned quite a few fighting techniques from Mikasa lately, and he shifted his body aside, moving in close to Keith.

That kept Keith from subduing him for the moment. Just as Yago breathed a sigh of relief, however, he noticed Instructor Keith tilting his head far back.

Yago froze. Bang! Instructor Keith's head slammed into Yago's like a hammer. No human skull should have been that hard!

"Ah! That hurts!" Yago cried out and fell, clutching his head. White smoke almost seemed to rise from his forehead. It really hurt-so much that he couldn't stop his tears from flowing.

Instructor Keith smoothed his slightly rumpled uniform. "Not bad at all. But remember one thing, kid: respect your instructor!"