Archer finished his explanation, put down the grav-chute model in his hand, and his gaze swept over the eager players in front of him, asking calmly, "Did you all understand?"
Upon hearing this, the players no longer hesitated and loudly declared, "Understood, understood!"
"Yes, instructor, hurry up and start, we can't wait!" one player excitedly jumped up and down.
Archer's lips curved slightly, revealing a subtle, cold smile. He casually picked the player who seemed most enthusiastic: "You, repeat to me the key points I just explained."
The chosen player froze, his excitement instantly congealed on his face. He stammered, "Uh… it's… that… the timing to open the chute… and… and the direction control… uh…" His words were disjointed; he clearly hadn't grasped the main points, let alone accurately repeated them.
Archer sneered. He had long guessed that these guys hadn't listened carefully to him. These players probably thought, 'How hard can it be with system assistance?'
If he were still in the army, he would have been furious on the spot and then had to repeat the lesson. But here… He directly interrupted the player's embarrassment: "Alright, you passed. You can jump."
The players, hearing this unexpected "pass," were naturally overjoyed, completely oblivious to the deeper meaning in Archer's words. They scrambled to the edge of the high platform and, without hesitation, leaped from the top of the hive city, as if jumping into an ocean of freedom.
Archer stood at the high point, watching the scene below with an expressionless face, finding it rather amusing.
"Ah ah ah ah ah ah, holy crap——" One player, though flustered, successfully opened his grav-chute with the system's assistance. However, he clearly hadn't mastered the control technique; he spun dozens of times in the air like an out-of-control top.
Finally, he slammed into the exterior wall of a towering building, accompanied by a considerable explosion, turning into a spectacular firework with fragments scattering everywhere.
Another player, after jumping, maintained freefall for a while, seemingly still enjoying the sensation of weightlessness. As a result, he did nothing from beginning to end. His body, at high speed, curled directly into a ball, and he couldn't even open his grav-chute before he hit the ground with a "splat," like an overripe tomato, turning into a puddle of flesh.
Besides these, there were countless bizarre ways to die, which Archer found truly amusing. After all, on Earth, whether military or civilian, parachuting required strict training and vetting, and usually involved tandem jumps for safety. How could there be such a thing as clueless recruits just jumping with a chute?
The players watching below were also shocked by such a scene. After all, it was quite rare for a dozen people to skydive, only to all become high-altitude fireworks or crash directly in front of them.
Of course, they had no sympathy for their comrades; only merciless mockery came from their mouths.
Soon, those dozen "fallen" players respawned at the original jumping spot on the high-rise. They were stunned for a while, clearly still savoring the brief but thrilling death experience. Then, they started chattering excitedly:
"Holy crap, I couldn't control it at all after opening the grav-chute, I just drifted everywhere and crashed into the building!"
"You're lucky; I blacked out as soon as I jumped and didn't know anything. I didn't even open the chute and had a hard landing on the spot. I felt like my bones shattered!"
"Damn it, I thought I could control it, but the wind just blew me off course, and I couldn't get back!"
"Ahem." Archer cleared his throat, and two light coughs instantly drew everyone's attention to him, halting the noisy discussion. "Alright, you won't get anywhere by just rambling like this."
He pointed to a player on the far right, his tone still calm and firm: "One by one. You first tell me what problem you encountered, and I will explain how to solve it, one by one."
This time, the players were all well-behaved, their previous impatience and disdain gone from their faces. They obediently lined up, and when it was their turn, they carefully chose to recount their death experiences and the problems they encountered in detail. Archer then began to answer them one by one, reiterating the details and precautions for each operation.
After the painful lesson of personal experience, this time, the players listened with full attention and basically all successfully repeated what Archer had said.
Archer nodded in satisfaction, finally showing a hint of approval on his face: "Very good, at least your attitude is correct this time. Keep jumping."
Upon hearing this, although the players still felt uneasy, having personally experienced failure and listened to Archer's detailed explanation, they had a bit more confidence than last time. They looked at each other, took a deep breath, and leaped from the high platform once again.
However, as expected, this was another complete wipeout.
The air was still filled with various screams and uncontrolled tumbles. Some players desperately adjusted their posture in mid-air but still couldn't avoid collisions; others, due to operational errors, had their grav-chute output in the wrong direction mid-air, directly turning into a high-speed plummeting lead ball.
Among them, one player performed exceptionally well; he almost perfectly controlled his descent, successfully opened his grav-chute, and made contact with the ground in a barely stable posture.
However, his landing method was incorrect; his legs landed at a twisted angle, emitting the crisp sound of shattering bones. He let out a tragic cry of "Oh, motherf*cker," his lower body instantly suffering comminuted fractures, and his numb legs left him twitching on the ground.
He unhesitatingly pulled out his pistol, aimed it at his head, and ended this round of his life to respawn faster. The other players who jumped worse and died faster, died instantly and unknowingly, thus suffering less pain.
The onlookers were shocked by the scene of these players undergoing airborne training, constantly living, constantly jumping, constantly dying, and then repeating the cycle. They all expressed how impactful it was.
"Holy crap, is this what paratrooper training is like? This is too hardcore."
"I originally wanted to try it, but now seeing this scene, I've completely given up the idea."
"Don't you think this is cool? It perfectly fits my stereotype of Wahammer's dark and cruel disregard for human rights."
"Actually, the Astra Militarum's training for paratroopers is very rigorous and serious…"