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Chapter 15

“Tch! If I hadn’t been worn out from fighting...”

“Are you gonna say that in a real battle too? Give credit where credit is due.”

“Yup. Just look at No. 25. Numbers aren’t everything.”

Each of the children had different reactions. There were some who were impressed by the might of Group 5, and some who grumbled and refused to admit they lost. Some found it pathetic to be defeated, while others were forced to confront their prejudice.

Group 5 really surprised us, but that’s exactly why they had better results, Bruno thought. In the end, Group 5 had been exceedingly successful at fulfilling the goals of the mission.

Bruno stroked his mustache and watched the children with a look of pride.

The members of Group 5 had been discouraged because they hadn’t been aware of their own strength and potential, but now they had regained their confidence. Furthermore, the trainees who had neglected their training due to arrogance had regained their desire to improve. It was a pleasant surprise.

And it seems like No. 1—no, William—came to an important realization.

The boy was always obsessing over being the best as if he were possessed, but after he lost to No. 25, a weight seemed to have lifted off his shoulders. Now, he was smiling.

Typically, when previously undefeated fighters lost for the first time, they took it even harder than most. Even if they were a genius—or rather, because of their genius—they would despair because, ultimately, losing shattered the illusion that they were walking down a straight and easy path.

This is all thanks to No. 25. He was the most important person in all of this. Bruno looked around for Leonard, then tilted his head. Leonard wasn’t among the rambunctious children, but why would they be so excited if the boy who brought them to victory wasn’t present?

Colin noticed his confusion and whispered, “No. 25 went to go see the wolf.”

“Ah. So he did.”

Though Leonard hadn’t known the wolf for long, he had likely grown fond of the wolf and treated it like a pet because it was so obedient. Though it was hard to believe he was fourteen when one saw his swordsmanship, this made Bruno remember that Leonard was still a child.

Now that he thought about it, this gave him another good opportunity. He could have a one-on-one conversation with the new No. 1 before they returned to the facility.

“Instructor Colin, start making preparations to leave once the children calm down a bit. I have already sent for the carriages,” Bruno said.

“Understood.”

“I will have a short word with No. 25.”

After assigning miscellaneous duties to the other instructors, Bruno walked through the forest with his hands clasped behind his back. Though he wasn’t walking particularly fast, each stride was several meters long, and it didn’t take long for him to locate No. 25’s presence.

Impressive.

That was Bruno’s first thought when he found No. 25. Though Bruno hadn’t particularly focused on stealth, he had habitually masked his presence, but No. 25 was already facing his direction. So this was why Colin’s report said, “High likelihood of possessing enhanced senses.” This keenness was likely part of the reason why Leonard had been able to handle all of No. 1’s psychic attacks.

“No. 25—or should I call you No. 1 now?” Bruno asked, opening the conversation.

“Whatever pleases you.”

“Then I’ll call you No. 25. William has been ‘No. 1’ for too long, so it feels strange to call someone else that,” he admitted.

Leonard didn’t say anything and simply nodded.

Even now, he doesn’t seem like a child.

Even though Leonard had now secured his spot as the strongest in his class, he didn’t seem to care. Furthermore, his calm eyes and even breathing didn’t make him seem like someone who had just emerged victorious from an intense battle.

“Hm.” Bruno knew some people with similar mien. They left mountains of bodies and oceans of blood in their wake as they gained real-life battle experience. They were like monsters, and nothing could shake them.

To this day, Bruno could still distinctly remember the moment he had come across the Commander of the Cardenas’ Order of the Red Dragon, even though it had been decades ago.

There was a sense of stillness, as if the Commander stood in the eye of a storm.

“Step aside, kid.”

The Commander’s demeanor was so oppressive and the stench of blood so sharp that Bruno had forgotten he was standing in the way.

On that day, Bruno had come to a realization. He realized that those who made up the Cardenas’ true fighting forces were in a different realm. That wasn’t something a person could achieve with mere talent, effort, or resources. Those people were forged through blood.

Therefore, Bruno was even more baffled about Leonard.

You’re telling me that No. 25 is the same type of person as them? Even though he’s never held a real sword or been on the battlefield? Is that even possible?

He was foolishly stuck on a question because he had a good feeling about Leonard’s potential.

The boy didn’t let the silence linger any longer. “Sir?”

“Ah, my apologies. I got distracted. Is that the wolf you trained?” Bruno asked, barely managing to shake himself out of his stupor and feigning indifference. He changed the subject, pretending that he’d been looking at the wolf behind Leonard the whole time. The wolf was trembling under the man’s gaze, its tail lowered.

This wolf is sharp, Bruno thought. It had gone to hide behind Leonard as soon as it realized it couldn’t defeat him.

The boy pet the wolf’s snout, its eyes pitiful. “Yes, that’s right.”

“Using it to find the scattered members of Group 5 and convincing them to join your side was a good plan. You would not have found half of them if you and No. 3 were the only ones searching,” he remarked.

Leonard didn’t refute it because it was the undeniable truth. “I was not to use the wolf to attack other trainees or intimidate them into negotiations. That was the promise I made.”

“I’m not rebuking you. On the contrary, I wish to commend you. Even if you had exploited loopholes, the fault would fall on the instructors for not anticipating it,” he said.

“Thank you.”

Having nothing left to say, Bruno simply chuckled. “Where did you obtain the potions you gave to No. 3?”

“The medic gave me a few bottles when I was discharged from the infirmary to take if there was any lingering pain,” Leonard explained.

“And you brought them here. You prepared quite thoroughly, I see.”

Not even members of the Cardenas bloodline could heal from a fracture simply by taking a few days off. If it weren’t for the abundance of rations and potions No. 3 had received, her recovery time wouldn’t have been so fast, and she would still be in a splint.

Bruno then asked Leonard a few more questions about things he wasn’t aware of or didn’t know enough about. Once he heard the whole story, he spoke again. “Aren’t you curious why I’m being so specific with my questions?”

“I trust that you’ll tell me if I need to know, sir.”

“Hm, so you aren’t the fussy type.” Bruno shook his head at his adult-like response, but he had no intention of hiding anything or dragging it out. “No. 25, you are now ranked number one. So, the point of this is to give you the information you now have access to.”

“Number one... Is it that big of a deal?”

“Of course it is. Why do you think we assign numbers to every trainee and sow competition by giving them preferential treatment even though it doesn’t seem like much of a difference? It’s because the benefits become greater as you rise through the ranks.”

Leonard expected as much. After all, No. 1, No. 2, No. 4, and the other direct descendants had known about the field training before it was announced. He also assumed that they did this because changing the numbers was tedious. This system would make the rankings more stable.

Bruno continued, “This was the final mission for your class. You children will now begin real training and be sent to different posts. Based on the evaluations you received from this program, the places you are authorized to go to and the training supplies you receive will vary widely. Now that you have become the top of the class, you will have all the best privileges.”

“I see.”

“Hm. Don’t you think it’s unfair? Direct descendants have this knowledge and prepare ahead of time, but the other trainees don’t know anything.”

Of course it was unfair, but Leonard already knew this and didn’t care much about it. From birth to death, life was rarely ever fair, and those who swore it was were all liars. Those with power couldn’t help but want to lay out a smooth path for their children. Considering how direct descendants had several times more potential than the other trainees, it wasn’t at all strange for them to receive more benefits.

And it’s a much more sound system than one that allows the talentless and sly to rise through the ranks through nepotism. At the bare minimum, they had to prove their skill. That was what Leonard thought. He explained this to Bruno.

“That’s quite a mature perspective,” the instructor said, impressed. “In that case, you won’t have any trouble understanding what I’m about to tell you next.”

No matter how honorable and orderly the Cardenas family was, it wasn’t possible to completely erase self-interest and preference for close relatives. So, a few rules were set up within the family, one of them being the prohibition of unauthorized assistance.

However, that implied that there was such a thing as authorized assistance, so it wasn’t completely banned. For example, informing someone of training plans a few days beforehand or telling them the meaning behind the rankings was allowed. The information was somewhat trivial but still helpful, so it was permitted. This way, the Cardenas family could keep a semblance of balance without prohibiting help entirely.

“But there are trainees such as yourself who have reached the top ranks without receiving any type of designated assistance,” Bruno finished.

“Is this why you asked me all those questions?” Leonard realized.

“Indeed. It was to see if you received any outside help. I apologize if you feel offended.”

“Not at all.”

Bruno smiled brightly. “Not only are you an indirect descendant, you became top of the class without any assistance, so you will receive three times as many training supplies than if you did have help. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” Leonard couldn’t help but be a little surprised. Three times as many! Would that mean he could do three times as much training? Or that the quality was three times better? It was such a great reward that it would have washed away any envy one might have for the direct descendants’ advantages.

Bruno explained a few more things before he turned to leave, but he was interrupted.

“Sir,” Leonard called.

“Hm?”

“What will happen to this wolf?”

That one question finally reminded Bruno that Leonard was still a child. Bruno chuckled. “Hahaha! Have you grown fond of it?”

“Well, it’s cute. And, well, I’m indebted to it.”

“There is no need to worry. It will stay in this forest like a guard dog, and nothing else will happen to it,” he reassured.

Leonard relaxed a little. “May I spend a little more time with it before we leave?”

“Just don’t be late,” Bruno replied pleasantly. “Today is all about you. You wouldn’t want to bring down their spirits, now would you?”

“I understand.” The boy gave a curt nod, and the instructor left more quickly than he’d come.

Leonard made sure the instructor was out of sight before turning back toward the wolf. Now that Bruno was gone, it immediately lay on the ground again, wagging its tail, but there was something sad about its eyes.

“You don’t want me to leave either?” Leonard murmured.

It barked in reply. They hadn’t known each other for long—it had only been a few days. But Leonard sensed that the wolf already thought of him as family. An animal’s affection was purer than a human’s. Leonard felt himself waver for a moment when he saw its pitiful gaze.

“I’m sorry. You can’t come with me,” he whispered.

The wolf whimpered and lowered its head into its paws.

“I’ll get stronger. And you have to get stronger too if you want to follow me when we meet again someday,” he said.

A day would come when he would be able to leave the Cardenas family and travel the world. However, he would be far stronger than he was now and would depart on an adventure unsuitable for a wolf that was merely trained to test trainees. So, this would likely never come to pass.

“But if you’re strong enough to join me then, I’ll give you a real name that day,” Leonard promised.

He placed his hand on the wolf’s head and closed his eyes.

A Beast Soul Essence Bond was a top-secret technique used in the Nanman Jungle to raise spiritual animals, allowing one to impress oneself on an animal. Because it required a person to imbue qi into an animal and not a human, it wouldn’t work if the animal wasn’t intelligent enough, no matter how many times it was attempted.

This is my only chance.

Since Leonard had no internal qi, he absorbed the naturally occurring energy and pushed it into the wolf. It put a heavy strain on him.

“Urp.” He swallowed the blood rising in his throat and watched the mana flow inside the wolf and engrave itself. No matter how many times it took, he would keep circulating the mana until the wolf could take hold of it on its own.

The people of the Nanman Jungle weren’t fools, so why didn’t they use this technique on every beast they came across? It was because a Bond could never form with an unintelligent animal, and it was pointless to even try.

And then...

“I... did it.”

Surprisingly, the Bond took to the wolf on the fifth cycle, and now the wolf had fully memorized the path of mana.

When Leonard pulled his hand away, he could see the wolf circulating the energy without issue. As it turned out, the wolf was smarter than most spiritual animals.

Woof! Woof, woof!

The wolf seemed to be energized by its newfound power, and it ran around in circles. The force of its step was already twice as strong. If this was only the beginning stage, it wouldn’t take long for it to become strong enough to rip apart a spiritual animal on its own.

“Don’t be idle, don’t be arrogant, and make sure to train consistently. If you become untamed or develop a taste for blood, I’ll kill you myself.”

Woof! The wolf barked enthusiastically, as if telling him not to worry. That made Leonard grin as he turned away.

The wolf silently watched his back. When the boy disappeared from its sight, it reared its head back and howled.

Awoooo—!

And so, human and wolf went their separate ways, wondering if and when they would reunite.