"The induction ceremony for the 104th Cadet Corps… begins now!"
A thunderous voice exploded across the vast training grounds.
Thousands of new cadets turned toward the podium.
At some point, a bald, stone-faced man had stepped onto it his expression colder than winter steel.
With a glare sharp enough to cut skin, he bellowed:
"I'm the unfortunate bastard assigned to whip you brats into shape Keith Shadis.
Let me make this clear: I don't welcome you. Not one bit.
Right now, you're nothing but Titan food livestock!
No… worse than livestock!"
A collective twitch ran through the recruits.
This… was brutally honest.
Uncomfortably honest.
"But for useless wastes like you, we will spend three years drilling combat skills into your empty skulls.
Three years later, when you stand before a Titan
whether you remain food,
become the proud Walls that guard our king,
or rise as honorable warriors who push the Titans back
that will be for you to decide!"
Harsh as he was, the man did know how to stir a young soldier's blood.
Most of the recruits were twelve to fourteen years old
and their eyes blazed with fire after that speech.
And none more than Eren.
"I'll do it… I'll drive every Titan off the face of the earth. Every last one!"
But where passion burned, calm minds hid as well.
Evan glanced beside him.
Annie Leonhart stood there, face like a frozen lake
not a ripple of emotion.
And further back, hidden from Evan's eyes
Reiner Braun, muscular and steady, and
Bertolt Hoover, tall and timid.
The Armored Titan and the Colossal Titan.
The culprits who destroyed Wall Maria.
Reiner listened to Keith's words with bored disdain
the kind of contempt only someone raised as a "Titan-chosen warrior" could carry.
Bertolt, meanwhile, wasn't paying attention at all.
His gaze kept drifting toward a certain silhouette ahead
Evan.
Reiner noticed.
"What's wrong? Something off?"
As undercover agents, Reiner's instincts remained razor-sharp.
Bertolt hesitated, shook his head.
"I… feel like I've seen that guy somewhere."
"Oh?"
Reiner followed his gaze, observed Evan for a few seconds, then looked away.
"Don't overthink it. We've seen countless faces these two years.
Focus. Don't slip up."
"But still…"
Bertolt murmured.
It wasn't a normal recognition
more like a faint, subconscious memory…
something dreamlike.
No one else noticed their exchange.
Back on the podium, Keith Shadis continued his tirade before suddenly stepping down.
The drill sergeant marched straight toward the front row
toward Armin Arlert.
Armin stiffened like a frightened kitten.
"Hey! You!"
Keith barked, voice cracking like a whip.
Armin instantly clenched his right fist and slammed it against his heart in the formal salute.
"I-I am Armin Arlert, from Shiganshina District, sir!"
Keith sneered down at him.
"That name sounds stupid. Did your parents give you that?"
"…???"
Two rows behind, Evan's eyebrows shot up.
What kind of insult is that?
This guy just flame-throws people indiscriminately!?
What did Armin's name ever do to him??
"It was my grandfather's!" Armin shouted, trembling.
Armin was timid by nature
and Keith's intimidation was deliberate.
A psychological shock.
A test to strip away childish illusions before facing Titans.
If you couldn't withstand him,
you had no business becoming a soldier.
"What did you come here for, Armin!?"
"T-To contribute to humanity's victory with my own strength!"
"How noble!
Then you can serve as the Titans' next meal!"
Keith seized Armin's head and shoved it aside.
"FIRST ROW ABOUT FACE!"
After tearing Armin apart verbally, Keith shifted his attention to the second row.
Instantly, the recruits stiffened like quivering rabbits.
They avoided his gaze the way students avoid a teacher's quiz question.
The first trial had begun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~> Bonus Chapter every 300PS!!