Hearing Kali's words, Mikasa couldn't help smiling, a little convinced.
"You're right. After all, anyone Bai Yu chooses must have both talent and dedication. He must think very highly of you."
Kali pulled her up from the ground.
"Didn't Bai Yu say it back then? If you hadn't been unable to leave Eren, he would have chosen you too. Haven't you always been more talented than me? What is there to be discouraged about?"
Feeling somewhat reassured, Mikasa took Kali's hand and rose from the ground.
"I'm going to get stronger, much stronger-strong enough to protect Eren!"
A figure staggered into view. It wasn't a zombie, but Bai Yu, who still looked half asleep. He rubbed his eyes, looking as though he might doze off at any moment.
"Ah, Mikasa, Kali. Perfect timing. Come with me, Kali. I've already spoken to Instructor Keith. For now, you'll be leaving the 104th Cadet Corps to train with us."
With that, he grabbed her hand and led her toward the forest, grumbling as he walked.
"Why did Ming and the other one run off so fast?"
But just as he was about to disappear from Mikasa's sight, he suddenly turned back to her.
"Oh, right, Mikasa. If you can't keep up with Eren, come join our Support Squad. Xiate and I certainly won't turn you away."
Without waiting for Mikasa's answer, he turned around and continued pulling Kali deeper into the forest.
Half a month passed...
During that half month, Bai Yu brought Kali to the Support Squad's base, where the three of them focused mainly on teaching her. She got up at six each morning to run and warm up a little, then moved on to hand-to-hand combat training. After breakfast, Bai Yu spent an hour teaching her about firearms.
Then she learned how to maneuver with the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear under Xiate. She was equipped with the Support Squad's upgraded version, which offered substantial improvements in cable speed and pulling force, as well as gas capacity and discharge speed.
As it happened, the entire Survey Corps had now received an equipment upgrade, though the news hadn't been made public. The new models had deliberately been designed to look almost identical to the old ones.
After lunch, she continued learning about firearms and how to use them with Bai Yu. In the afternoon, she resumed training with the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, followed by hand-to-hand combat training in the evening. She stopped at nine thirty and went to sleep at ten, getting eight hours of sleep every day. A perfect, fulfilling day.
Kali was beginning to feel mentally numb. She still trembled before Bai Yu when he was in instructor mode and didn't dare resist him at all.
Over that half month, Kali felt that both her physical condition and her understanding of the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear had improved considerably. The intensity and methods of training here were nothing like what she had experienced before.
Several times, she had nearly crashed into a tree and died, only for Bai Yu to catch her from nearby.
That was right. Bai Yu stayed beside her solely to make sure she didn't accidentally get herself killed.
One morning...
A figure suddenly stood beside Bai Yu's bed.
"Brother, didn't you say you were taking Kali outside the walls for live combat training today?"
But Bai Yu remained in bed, not hearing a word. Xiate's mouth twitched slightly, and she grabbed his blanket and yanked it off.
Bai Yu was wearing fairly loose pajamas. Feeling the chill against his body, he returned to his senses from the system's training ground and slowly sat up. Rubbing his still-sleepy eyes, he looked blearily at Xiate in front of him.
"Ah, little Xi. What's wrong?"
Xiate looked at Bai Yu expressionlessly.
"Aren't you getting up yet, Brother? Kali can hardly wait. She's been getting ready for a while."
Oh, right. I'd said I would take Kali to a patch of woods near the wall today for live combat training.
"Ah, got it. Don't be so impatient. The sun isn't even up yet. If we go this early, the Titans won't have much energy."
As he spoke, he picked up the clothes beside him and began unfastening his pajamas without any attempt to hide himself. Xiate practically knew him better than he knew himself.
Suddenly, Xiate leaned in close to Bai Yu.
"What is it?"
Xiate reached out and gently squeezed the muscle on Bai Yu's shoulder, then gave a small shake of her head.
"Nothing."
Bai Yu shrugged slightly.
After changing, he left his room and began washing up.
The rather cold water splashing against his face helped wake him up a little.
Last night, inside the system space, he had first been bitten by a Titan, then stabbed several times during hand-to-hand combat. He had also been shot during firearms training, with missile bombardments thrown in for good measure. He had died several times in a single night.
Of course, all his opponents were himself-enemies created by copying and pasting his physical attributes, techniques, and abilities. That Titan in particular had completely crushed him. The other Titans were manageable. As long as his Omni-Directional Mobility Gear worked and he still had gas, they posed little real threat.
[Today's tasks: 1. Eat breakfast on time Reward: 4 hours of training time 2. Teach Kali Lang for two hours Reward: One random book 3. Eat lunch on time Reward: 4 hours of training time 4. Teach Kali Lang for two hours Reward: One random book 5. Eat dinner on time Reward: 4 hours of training time 6. Get a full fifteen hours of sleep on schedule every day Reward: Random] [Inventory: 1. Small pile of gold fragments ×1 2. Magic Wireless Earphones ×1 3. Deck of playing cards ×1 4. Leaf ×2 5. Ordinary orange ×1 6. Ordinary dagger ×1 7. Grape ×1 8. Senzu Bean ×2 9. Stamina Recovery Potion ×2 10. Magic potion ×3 11. Titan Spinal Fluid ×4 12. Ordinary Rubik's Cube ×1 13. Screw component ×2 ...]
There were plenty more items. A single scroll brought up a dizzying assortment of just about everything, all obtained from those random rewards. Some were genuinely useful, though, like the Senzu Beans. Apparently, they could save you as long as you still had a breath left. He had gotten them this year.
Good stuff.
If I got a nuclear bomb or an Ultraman Transformation Device, wouldn't that solve the problem of Marley and the other countries?
Of course, that was just wishful thinking.
He closed the system panel and went over to the table. Kali wasn't there; she had probably gone outside for a run.
"Is Ming still upstairs drinking?"
"No. He's already finished breakfast and gone outside to watch Kali run."
"How diligent."
Xiate gave him a sidelong glance.
"When we rest, you call us lazy, Brother, but when we get up early, you call us diligent. It seems you've been taking things a little too easy lately, haven't you?"
Before you continue