MMBMGAP CH 3

Chapter 3: Combat Simulation

In the dark jungle, wild grasses grew chaotically and the ground was gnarled and uneven. Towering trees stood dense and high, blocking out the light, making visibility nearly impossible. Yet, the constant rustling sounds proved the jungle was far from quiet.

Lurking in the shadows weren’t just insects.

Sade held his breath, eyes fixed on the black figure advancing ahead—a massive insect with a tough outer shell and a double set of fangs. It moved incredibly fast, gliding across the muddy ground with terrifying speed. Sensing Sade’s position, the insect surged toward him.

300 meters.
200 meters.
150 meters…

As the insect—known as a Worm King—swept past, Sade dashed forward in a single leap. His short-bladed combat knife pierced straight into the soft seam beneath the creature’s jaw. Twisting the hilt swiftly, he sliced through the hard shell, then yanked out the glowing core, crushing it without hesitation.

The Worm King vanished. On the optical terminal strapped to Sade’s wrist, the counter increased by one—another confirmed kill.

Ten minutes remained in the simulation.

This time, Sade had adjusted the simulation difficulty to its highest, configuring the system to spawn the insectoid race’s elite vanguard units at a 10-to-1 density. Now, only three trainees remained on the field. One of them was seriously injured, his health bar steadily dropping. Sade decided to go save him.

He sprinted across the slippery, muddy terrain. As long as he moved fast enough, he wouldn’t sink into the marsh. Light on his feet, he ignored any minor creatures he passed, focused only on finding his teammate.

Finally, he reached a small stream.

Jungle creeks could be life-saving—or deadly. One sip of clean water could revive a soldier, but who knew what monsters were lurking beneath the surface?

Behind a boulder near the stream, Sade spotted Achille.

“You holding up?” Sade quickly checked his injuries. The simulation didn’t mute pain perception—while there were no real wounds, the pain level was fully realistic. Achille had taken a serious hit to the waist, and he was clearly in too much pain to move.

“J-Just… seven more minutes. Seeing you here, I know we’ll make it…” Achille managed a weak smile. He’d barely held out this long, but during his last encounter with a Worm King, he’d been ambushed by a hidden mantis-type insect.

“Don’t count on the clock. There’s no such thing as an ‘end time’ on the real battlefield.” Unlike Achille, Sade was always serious. In actual combat, simulations didn’t end. The only true ending was either death—or survival.

“Yeah, yeah…” Achille knew Sade’s personality and didn’t argue, simply focusing on regulating his breathing.

“Shh…” Sade frowned. He’d heard something. Signaling Achille to stay quiet, he turned toward the sound—just as a giant dragonfly burst out of the creek.

Drawn by the sound of their voices, the dragonfly locked onto them and dove in. Sade couldn’t dodge without abandoning Achille. Instead, he released a wave of spiritual power, attempting to disrupt the creature’s flight path. Though Sade wasn’t particularly skilled with this ability, an S-Class Alpha’s gland still carried overwhelming force.

The dragonfly staggered off course. Sade slashed out, hurling his short combat knife straight into one of the creature’s eyes. With a screech, it spiraled mid-air, spraying foul-smelling green fluid.

Without hesitation, Sade leapt, grabbed its wings, and plunged a smaller blade into its remaining eye. The insect screeched and thrashed, but he didn’t flinch—even as the slimy fluid drenched him. He tossed the now-crippled dragonfly into the creek, where something unseen dragged it under.

The kill counter on Sade’s terminal increased by one again. The simulation was finally over.

The eight-hour combat trial required the use of cold weapons only. Even for elite cadets of the academy, it was an exhausting ordeal. But war showed no mercy, and perfection was the bare minimum.

Afterward, the trainees lined up and reported their results to the chief instructor.

Their lead instructor, Colonel Lei, was a retired veteran now working at the academy. Having survived countless wars, he was in charge of combat training.

“Top kill count—Sade. Second, Daniel. Third, Achille. Anyone with fewer than ten kills: failed. Three more days of additional training. Dismissed.”

After the debrief, the students slowly dispersed. Then Lei called out to Sade.

“Sade, what do you think of the difficulty adjustment this round?” Lei often used Sade, an S-Class Alpha, as the benchmark when designing new training scenarios.

“I think it’d be beneficial to incorporate more spiritual power training as support,” Sade said, recalling the earlier fight. “In actual combat, it’d give us an extra option. For those with strong spiritual power—like Lin You—they can directly disorient or stun insects. If close-combat type Alphas can enhance their spiritual strength, it opens up more possibilities.”

“Hm… but not every Alpha’s gland can handle that kind of training. It’d probably require at least an A-rank gland^[1],” Lei mused.

“Maybe we could try mixed training with students who specialize in spiritual power. A bit of mutual learning. Don’t priests from the temple sometimes come to the academy for lectures too?” Sade suggested.

There were two primary systems for spiritual training—one taught in the military academy, and the other in the temple for priest apprentices. The two systems often shared and exchanged resources.

“That’s actually a good idea. We could run a few combined sessions and see how it works,” Lei nodded.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Thank me? I should be the one thanking you—every time there’s a new plan, it’s you I go to first,” Lei chuckled. He used to serve under Sade’s father and had always looked out for the boy.

With official matters discussed, the two began to chat casually as they walked.

“There’s one more thing I’d like to ask, sir,” Sade said, sounding earnest.

“Go ahead.”

“For the priests joining the training… would it be possible to include Lin You?”

“Oh? You’re requesting him specifically?”

“Yes. Our glands are very compatible. There might be potential for some new tactics,” Sade explained.

“Pfft, you don’t have to explain all that. I know who he is.” Lei laughed out loud. He knew Lin You was Sade’s fiancé and clearly assumed the request was more personal than strategic. “You just wanna train with your wife—I get it. I’ll make it happen.”

“Sir…” Sade flushed with slight embarrassment after being seen through.

“All right, all right, I got it. I’ll take care of it.” Lei patted him on the shoulder, clearly amused by the young man’s “little secret,” then walked off cheerfully.

(To be continued…)