"Look! Mikasa is so fast!" a cadet exclaimed.
"She's amazing!" Sasha exclaimed as well.
Mikasa flowed effortlessly through the woods, weaving freely between the trees before emerging from the other end moments later.
"Mikasa Ackerman, twenty-seven seconds," the Technical Personnel beside them announced after timing her mentally.
"Wow!" The cadets erupted in amazement.
"Great job, Mikasa! Too bad you didn't beat the captain," Eren said, excited but a little disappointed.
"Eren, Mikasa is already incredible. Captain Levi is known as humanity's strongest soldier. How could recruits like us possibly beat him...?" Armin said to Eren.
Armin had barely finished speaking when a figure as fast as Mikasa shot forward with the zip of a cable. The instant Chen Si launched himself, he felt that using his Vertical Maneuvering Equipment was as easy as typing on a keyboard.
Every obstacle before Chen Si might as well not have existed. His body automatically dodged each one the moment his eyes registered it. As he neared the finish, arcs of electricity suddenly began crackling around him.
Hidden by the trees, no one could see clearly as Chen Si's already incredible speed abruptly increased again. He reached the finish in an instant.
"Chen Si... twenty-three seconds..." the timekeeper said hesitantly. Had he not been so confident in his professional abilities, with no one in the military better at calculating time accurately, he would have suspected a mistake.
"These two just keep outdoing each other as monsters," Jean said from the side, his jaw practically hitting the ground.
"Fighting Titans must be easy at that speed," Connie said excitedly.
"You're right. We can't fall behind either. Connie, let's go together," Jean said with a sigh of admiration.
"All right! Sasha, think you can keep up with me?" Connie challenged Sasha beside him.
"If I win, you give me your dinner." Sasha shot off without another word.
"Hahaha! That was amazing, Chen Si! Even the captain can't match you!" Eren jumped up excitedly.
"Keep it down, keep it down," Chen Si said, raising a finger to his lips.
After seeing Mikasa and Chen Si's performances, a sudden competitive gleam flashed through Christa's eyes, and she launched herself forward with determination.
After some more testing, the results were ready.
First place: Chen Si, twenty-three seconds.
Second place: Mikasa Ackerman, twenty-seven seconds.
Third place: Annie Leonhart, thirty seconds.
Fourth place: Reiner Braun, thirty-two seconds.
Fifth place: Bertolt Hoover, thirty-three seconds.
Sixth place: Eren Yeager, thirty-eight seconds.
Seventh place: Jean Kirstein, thirty-eight seconds.
Eighth place: Marco Bott, thirty-eight seconds.
Ninth place: Connie Springer, forty seconds.
Tenth place: Sasha Blouse, forty seconds.
Christa and Armin finished in forty-two and forty-five seconds respectively, both above average. Compared with previous classes, Christa ranked in the upper-middle range, while Armin was in the middle range.
Keith Shadis watched their performances with immense satisfaction, proud of the cadets' results. The 104th class was the strongest he had ever taught, and their performance could even be called unprecedented in the entire history of the Training Corps.
Every cadet had finished in under fifty seconds, with an astonishing average of forty-eight. Even the class that included Mike, Rico, and Ian had averaged fifty-two seconds. Only Levi's class had surpassed them, because it had consisted of just three people, none of whom had been recruited from the Training Corps.
"Reiner Braun possesses an exceptionally powerful physique and an unyielding spirit. His comrades trust him deeply."
"Armin Arlert falls behind the others physically, but his knowledge of tactical theory surpasses them all."
"Annie Leonhart attacks sharply and has impeccable slashing techniques, but lacks a sense of teamwork. A lone wolf."
"Bertolt Hoover excels in every discipline and has tremendous potential, but lacks initiative."
"Jean Kirstein ranks among the best in operating Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, but is too outspoken and easily clashes with others."
"Sasha Blouse possesses an extraordinary sixth sense, like a born hunter, which makes her unsuited to team combat."
"Connie Springer performs well across the board and can improvise in areas where he is lacking, but is not particularly quick-witted."
"Eren Yeager has no particularly outstanding specialty, but possesses unimaginable resilience and perseverance. He is willing to put in unmatched effort to improve his results and has an exceptionally strong sense of purpose."
"Mikasa Ackerman passes every subject flawlessly. An unprecedented genius among all previous classes, like a born warrior."
"Chen Si possesses an exceptionally intelligent mind and demonstrates abundant innovative thinking in academic subjects. He ranks first in every combat subject, excelling in both scholarship and martial skills. A truly perfect soldier and leader."
Keith Shadis closed his record book and looked at the cadets again, his eyes filled with hope.
"The future within the Walls is in your hands."
Hand-to-hand combat class.
The cadets grumbled incessantly and showed little interest in unarmed combat, so most of them were simply going through the motions... except...
"Ow, ow, that hurts!" Reiner cried as Eren threw him to the ground with a shoulder throw.
Reiner, you really know how to put on an act, Chen Si grumbled inwardly. He stood off to the side, bored out of his mind, with a stalk of foxtail grass between his lips.
He used to think people doing this in shows looked stupid, showing off just for the sake of it. Now Chen Si realized that, with strength to back it up, it actually worked. He had already noticed plenty of girls sneaking glances at him.
For some reason, Mikasa had been radiating murderous intent for a while now. She had sent seven or eight cadets flying in succession when they came to spar with her, including girls. She had always held back before.
Because his results were outstanding, Keith turned a blind eye to Chen Si slacking off on the sidelines.
"Reiner, why are you sitting down again?" Chen Si walked slowly over to the fallen Reiner and reached out to pull him up.
Looking a little apologetic, Eren helped brush the dust off Reiner.
Chen Si did not stop him. Bonds were not something that could be stopped just because someone wanted to stop them. Once the truth became clear, those bonds would naturally shatter, never to be repaired.
"Eren's fighting skills really are impressive. I'm just not as good as him," Reiner said good-naturedly, rubbing the back of his head.
Chen Si gave Reiner a disdainful look that said, Go on, keep pretending. Reiner broke out in a cold sweat. Fair enough-with Chen Si's abilities, he should have been able to tell Reiner was holding back. Still, that was normal between comrades, so Reiner did not dwell on it.
"Chen Si, Eren, look. Annie's slacking off. As her comrades, shouldn't you go encourage her?"
Chen Si naturally understood what Reiner meant, but he was also curious about the gap between his own fighting skills and Annie's. He had always relied on the power of his Ackerman bloodline in combat and had rarely needed any techniques.
"Annie should be pretty strong," Chen Si said.
"All right! Let me see for myself, then." Eren's fighting spirit immediately flared.
"Slacking off again? Think back on why you came here, unless you want the instructors here to beat you up," Reiner said pointedly, blocking Annie's path with his eyes slightly narrowed.
Annie's expression darkened, and murderous intent rolled off her.
Even Eren found her a little frightening.
Reiner and Chen Si exchanged a glance, reaching a silent understanding.
"Go on, Eren!" Chen Si flashed a smile showing eight teeth and joined Reiner in pushing Eren forward.
"Huh? Hey!" Eren sounded nervous.
Annie's eyes were murderous as she raised her guard.
Eren worked himself up and charged, only for Annie to kick him in the leg. He hit the ground and could not get back up.
"That's it?" Chen Si froze.
"Can I go now?" Annie asked calmly.
"Wait, we still need someone to play the knife attacker," Reiner said.
"Wait, Annie, there are rules to this..." Eren said urgently as he shakily climbed to his feet.
Before Eren could finish, Annie's gaze sharpened with a cold glint. She took two steps forward, kicked Eren in the waist, and grabbed his arm with both hands, flipping him a full 180 degrees in midair and sending him straight to the ground.
There was a bang! And then... nothing.
Annie picked up the wooden sword from the ground, tucked a lock of bangs behind her ear, and tossed it to Reiner.
"Here. Your turn to attack me," Annie said expressionlessly.
I have to admit, Annie's a real beauty too. Westerners really do look mature. She's only fifteen, and she already has that older-woman air, Chen Si marveled inwardly.
"I'd rather not. I'll just..." Reiner started to refuse.
Eren lay on the ground like an octopus, his limbs folded over one another by Annie's throw. Looking thoroughly miserable, he said resentfully:
"Go on, Reiner. Didn't you say we should encourage Annie to act like a real soldier?"
Reiner looked at Eren's aggrieved expression and sighed.
"That's right. There are things a soldier has no choice but to face."
"And this is one of them!"
Bang!
There was another octopus on the ground...
Chen Si's mouth fell open. So brutal.
"You. Are you going to attack me too?" Annie looked at Chen Si standing nearby.
"No, I'm just passing through. I don't even know those two. Keep beating them up. Huh? Hey, why are you charging at me?"
Chen Si was about to turn and leave when Annie lunged at him.
Forced to defend himself, Chen Si saw Annie's leg slicing toward his head with a fierce rush of air. Startled, he quickly ducked while sweeping a leg at her.
Annie instantly pulled her lower leg back and jumped, turning the attack into a knee strike aimed at Chen Si's chest. He crossed both hands in front of his chest and took the heavy blow. He had barely stepped back when Annie's next kick followed right behind it.
Chen Si narrowed his eyes and drove a fist straight toward Annie's leg. Annie narrowed her eyes too, thinking he intended to meet force with force, and put even more strength into her kick.
Just as Chen Si's fist was about to collide with Annie's kick, his hand suddenly slipped past her leg. He grabbed her ankle and yanked hard while swinging his left fist at her face.
Chen Si noticed that Annie kept devoting some of her attention to protecting her lower body during the fight. He did not think much of it; perhaps she assumed he favored kicks too.
What Chen Si did not know was that it was all because Annie's frequent sparring partner in the past had been a sleazy little Japanese bastard...