Chapter 14: Spy Training (Part 1)

"Is this some kind of joke?" Dawn squinted at the guard who was busily fastening chains from a hefty steel ball to his arms and legs.

[Inspect Lv. 1]

[Steel Darbies] 

[A steel ball designed to be affixed to a prisoner's limbs to heavily restrict movement and make escape impossible.] 

[Weight: 15.67 Kilograms] 

[Durability: 68%]

"15 kilograms... times that by four, and you get 60 kilograms." Dawn murmured, reluctantly lifting his gaze to the daunting spectacle looming before him.

Before his eyes was a towering rocky cliff stretched up towards the cavernous ceiling, with scattered rocks providing potential footholds.

They'd been brought to this expansive chamber within the cave after a short walk from their manor.

"Your task is to climb this cliff, relying on your physical strength alone. The only exception is harnessing and circulating your internal energy-- if you know how to. Failure to complete this exercise will result in punishment." Rek declared.

Every pair of eyes was trained on Rek. His stern expression left no room for doubt-- he was not joking.

"Are they trying to kill us? Climbing this with a weight of 60 kilograms added to us?" Dawn contemplated, eyes drifting back to the steel balls chained to his limbs. "That's even heavier than I am..."

His gaze wandered back towards the cliff. "A fall from such a height would undoubtedly be fatal."

"I will not be assisting with this exercise," Rek stated, before striding towards the wall where the other guards leaned idly. He took a similar stance, arms crossed before muttering. "Begin."

Dawn had expected the others to hesitate, but to his surprise, Mason and Blaise, grinning wildly, dashed towards the wall as soon as he gave the signal. 

They began scaling the rocky incline, their hands and feet finding purchase effortlessly. 

"Something like this is easy…!" Mason announced confidently as he pulled himself up.

"Finally, they're making us do something!" Blaise declared, propelling himself upwards with a determined look on his face. 

As they climbed, the two exchanged glances.

"Huh? You're the idiot who lost to Freya," Blaise observed.

Mason's neck veins bulged in annoyance. "I didn't lose to that girl!" he retorted. 

With that, he quickened his pace, determined to outdo Blaise. In response, Blaise also accelerated to avoid lagging behind. 

Everyone watched as the pair, fueled by their competitive spirit, used their impressive strength to transform the climb into a race. 

"What's wrong? Scared? We'll fall if we die, but if you just keep standing there, you'll die!" Mason shouted back, continuing his climb.

His words seemed to spark a sense of motivation among the others. One by one, both the naturally awakened and forcibly awakened individuals began their ascent, with Ayleth and Freya leading the group.

"I hate to admit it, but those idiots are right..." Freya muttered, her expression displaying her annoyance. 

"Haha, they helped motivate everyone, though. So, that's good," Ayleth interjected, watching the other awakened below them.

Freya glanced at Ayleth, her eyes narrowing subtly. 

"It's good that you're concerned about the others in this situation, but you should focus more on yourself..." she advised, a hint of strain evident in her voice as she hoisted herself higher.

"Perhaps you're right," Ayleth responded, chuckling nervously.

The only ones who had not yet begun their ascent were Aella, Dawn, and Karol, the brown-haired forcibly awakened.

"I'm not good with heights... I hate this…" He grumbled before trudging forward, leaving only Aella and Dawn behind.

Aella cast a glance at Dawn, and he returned the look. Their eyes met but no words were exchanged before she, too, moved on. Despite starting after Karol, her pace was swift, overtaking him quickly and gaining steadily on the next awakened as she ascended.

'She's fast…' Dawn mused, observing from the ground. 

"No matter how I look at this, it's astounding…" Dawn muttered, walking over to the wall and gazing up at the other children climbing. 

In his previous world, it would have been unthinkable for children of their size to move, let alone climb whilst bearing so much weight. But in this new world, the physical boost granted by awakening made such feats possible. 

Realizing that moving with this weight felt lighter than he'd expected, Dawn felt this fact sink in deeper. 

'I can climb this…' Dawn thought. He reached for the first ledge and hoisted himself up. 

Like the others, Dawn began to climb. However, his movements were more refined, his path carefully plotted. 

The reason behind his delayed start was because he had been visualizing the perfect route. He had ingrained that path in his mind and was now scaling up, slowly gaining on the one ahead.

But it wasn't enough.

'At this rate, I'll exhaust myself before reaching the top…' 

Even though he was far from the summit, Dawn could envision it. As a trained spy, rock climbing was a fundamental skill he was well acquainted with, and he knew his limits.

However, he wasn't perturbed. He started to breathe slowly in and out, channeling the energy from the core within him. He could feel it flowing from his chest to his limbs and down to his legs—it permeated his entire body.

Circulating the energy while on the move was challenging, but he was managing it. As he accomplished this, he could feel his body becoming lighter and more agile. 

'This is it…! This is the feeling!' A grin spread across Dawn's face as he grasped a hold of the sensation.

Pushing the pace of his ascent even further, the energy in his body circulated faster. 

[Energy: 100% -> 99% -> 98%]

His energy bar was slowly depleting, but at a manageable rate. It was perfect.

'With this, I can reach the top—'

Dawn's thoughts were interrupted as a figure suddenly whooshed past him, plummeting towards the ground.

Splat!

Everyone abruptly halted their climb and looked down at the noise. The sight that met their eyes sent shivers down their spines. One of the forcibly awakened had slipped and lost his grip, falling to his death.

His body was grotesquely contorted, blood streaming from his crushed form, his organs spilling out. The absence of sound told them he must've died on impact.

'...' 

Without uttering a word, Dawn turned to look at Rek and the other guards who were observing. It was clear that they had no intention of helping anyone who fell.

'It's going to get a lot worse from here…' Dawn thought to himself, a bitter sensation welling up in his chest.