Becoming a Swordmaster by Reading Chapter 40

Chapter 40. “The Small for the Sake of the Great(1)” The 3rd Infantry Platoon received a two-day personal maintenance period after finishing this operation. The same was true for the other units that belonged to Transport Unit 2. However, despite being given personal maintenance time, the atmosphere in the 3rd Infantry Platoon that received it was not very good. The mood was completely subdued. Not only was Zailo sentenced to ten days of imprisonment, but they were now also unable to use the training ground used by everyone in the transport battalion, so it was inevitable. “I feel so drained.” “Tell me about it.” “Sigh.” But the soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Platoon were not the type to be intimidated by such things. At the same time as someone sighed on one side, someone getting fired up immediately appeared on the other. “What’s this? Isn’t it rather that we handled the situation well to prevent it from becoming a bigger deal?” “Honestly, I don't understand why even our platoon leader is being held responsible like this. I can understand the 1st Squad Leader's case.” “In reality, we should see this disadvantage as being directed not at the platoon leader, but at our entire platoon.” “Damn it, what did we do so wrong?” “It's just that we're a gathering of troublemakers, that's what.” “As if they've never made a single mistake and were so clean.” Just like that, the voices of complaint grew louder and louder. An interesting fact was that the soldiers having this conversation were unconsciously using the expression ‘we’ frequently. In other words, it meant that the disadvantage from this incident was unconsciously uniting the 3rd Infantry Platoon. In fact, the bond of the 3rd Infantry Platoon had been steadily strengthening as before. Not only had they carried out important operations together several times, but they had also crossed the line of death together, so it was only natural for them to become close. In conclusion, this incident was nothing more than an opportunity for this bond to reach its peak. Furthermore, Federico, who had been quietly sharpening his blade on one side and listening to the other soldiers' stories, drove a wedge into this atmosphere. “So we have to show them what we’re made of. We can’t live being ignored like this forever.” At that, one of the soldiers asked. “But how do we show them what we’re made of? Should we go grab some pushover and smash his pride?” Federico smiled gently and replied. “Normally, that method wouldn’t have been bad. I’m dying to do that myself. But even if we do that, we’ll just end up being ignored all the same. So we have to show them in a different way than before.” “What’s that?” “What else. It’s to become strong so that they can’t ignore us recklessly. As it happens, we have a very good training method, don’t we?” As Federico finished speaking, a silence fell among the soldiers who had been getting worked up. Federico mistook this silence for dissatisfaction with his opinion and added another word. “Well, it's just the nagging of an old man, so if you don't like it, just ignore it.” At that, a soldier who had belatedly come to his senses opened his mouth. “No, it’s not that I don’t like it. I was just at a loss for words because I’ve never thought of it that way.” “Is that so?” “Yes. It certainly seems like what the 3rd Squad Leader is saying is right. Rather than smashing some pushover’s pride, I think we need to become stronger than we are now so that no one can ignore us.” Hearing the two's story, the other soldiers also responded in agreement. “Hear, hear!” “That’s right!” Just like that, the enthusiasm for training grew hotter and hotter. And before long, this enthusiasm had spread to the entire 3rd Infantry Platoon. “Yes. Let's get stronger. If we all become as strong as Nedhab and Federico, who can ignore us?” “That's right. At the very least, we won't receive ridiculous disadvantages like we do now.” Among them, the most fired up was undoubtedly the 1st Squad. “In the end, it was because we were weak that we couldn't protect our squad leader.” “Damn it. I really have to get stronger, even if it’s just out of anger. That way, we can start using the training ground again as soon as possible.” In the end, the soldiers, who were as worked up as they could be, went straight to Chevalier. “What? You want to build a new training ground starting today?” “Yes. We want to return our personal maintenance time and cultivate a new training ground in order to receive training even a day sooner.” “Is there any way? Please grant us permission, Deputy Platoon Leader.” Chevalier thought the situation was turning out a bit strangely, but after a moment of thought, he soon nodded his head. It was something that had to be done anyway. Starting early would only be for the better, there would be no problem with it. “Alright. If that is what you all wish, I will make a suggestion to the Platoon Leader.” As it happened, it wasn't a bad story for Roden either, who was strolling around outside for a walk and checking for a good location to build the new training ground. “Really? Everyone’s on board with that? That’s great. Let’s start right away.” Just like that, the day right after their return, the 3rd Infantry Platoon began to move in order to become stronger than they were now. *** Originally, the transport battalion's training ground was located within the camp. But it was impossible to set up the new training ground inside. ‘The area inside the fence is already packed to the brim with all sorts of barracks and warehouses.’ For that reason, they had to set up a new training ground in a suitable place beyond the fence. Fortunately, the barracks of the 3rd Infantry Platoon were clustered near the east gate, so it was easy to go outside the camp. Therefore, it seemed best to build the new training ground outside the east gate as well. ‘Hmm. There’s really no better place than that open lot over there.’ Just like that, Roden decided on a suitable location, and the soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Platoon began their work in earnest. “Alright, pick up every single stone you see on the ground and move it!” “Those with shovels, come over here! We need to level this area!” “Why is pulling weeds taking so long? Are you foraging for wild vegetables?” Just like that, thanks to everyone's passionate efforts, the open lot was able to become a flat space perfect for training in just one day. And the next day, Roden had them cut down trees and build a fence around the training ground. The approximately 2-meter-high fence served to indicate that this was a training ground and, at the same time, to prevent others from peeking at the 3rd Infantry Platoon's training. However, building the fence required more time than expected, so they had to invest an additional two days. “It’s finished!” “Waaaah!” The soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Platoon, who had finally succeeded in setting up the entire training ground, let out a cheer of joy. Even though they had only succeeded in building one new training ground, the sense of accomplishment seemed to be quite significant. Everyone had an expression as if they had never suffered a disadvantage. ‘That’s how people are. You have to achieve small goals and constantly gain a sense of accomplishment in order to move towards a big goal without getting tired.’ In that sense, setting up the new training ground was more than sufficient as a small goal for the training to come. For that reason, Roden could easily guess why the soldiers' expressions had brightened, unlike before. ‘Hmm……. Since it’s come to this, shall I set up a device so that the soldiers can continue to achieve small goals and gain a sense of accomplishment?’ Now, there was not a single person in the 3rd Infantry Platoon who doubted the new training method. In other words, it meant that if they proceeded with the training from now on, all the soldiers would grow steadily at a similar level. It was a very positive thing, but there was one problem here. That was, if everyone grew like this, it would be difficult to gain a sense of accomplishment. This was because even if they held a competition to determine the best soldier in the platoon like before, the results would not be much different. In a word, it meant that even though they were getting stronger, this fact was not being felt. For that reason, Roden wanted to create a device that would allow individual soldiers to objectively feel their own growth. Then this would become a small goal and could give the soldiers a sense of accomplishment. ‘What would be good……. That would probably be the best, right?’ The next day, a total of 11 posts were erected on one side of the training ground. From those made of straw to those made of steel. The types of posts were all different. Roden, who was already out on the training ground first, opened his mouth towards the soldiers who were tilting their heads at the sight of the posts. “From today, after all your regular training is over, you will cut down these posts in order from the left. That way, you will directly feel that you are getting stronger day by day.” As soon as Roden finished speaking, curiosity and a competitive spirit filled the soldiers' eyes at the same time. It was only natural, as a new goal had been given in a situation where they were already full of motivation for training. Roden, satisfied with this reaction, continued to speak. “It seems you all want to cut down the posts right away, but we will proceed with the regular training first. You’ll all be able to check your skills in the evening, so please be patient for a little while. Then, Deputy Platoon Leader, start the training.” “Yes. We will begin. Everyone, assemble!” Chevalier gathered the disappointed soldiers and began the regular training in earnest. Roden also ran with the soldiers and thought. ‘At this rate, I won’t have to worry about the soldiers’ training for a while. Now, all that’s left is to do my own training well, right?’ In fact, Roden was feeling frustrated that his aura level was still stuck at 2-star. As he was reminded again of the fact that Chevalier had reached the level of a 2-star and Michael's level was 5-star, he felt a sense of urgency for some reason. For that reason, Roden set his research topic for this time to greatly increasing his aura absorption rate once again. As it happened, a decent research topic for this had come to Roden's mind. It was, It was a research topic closely related to this theory that Roden had first established in his previous life. That was right. Roden was thinking of finding something called ‘pure aura’.