Chapter 137

Our Violets are girls who love peace.

However, there are too many selfish and wicked beings in this world. As Violets who cherish peace, we cannot just stand by.

Even the nobles of ancient Rome said: “To maintain peace, prepare for war!”

So, I am rolling my body to prepare for war. I am learning new combat techniques, honing my tactics, and continually studying weapon usage.

Thus, in the two days left until we embark for a new dungeon, the Violets repeated simulations and real training.

Currently, we are at Novaastia Dungeon. Violets were running around in the gray alleys that we hadn’t visited in a while.

“Advance! Advance!”

The reason we chose this dungeon is simple. The space is wide, and the difficulty is low. Just a little deeper in, there are few hunters, so there’s no need to be cautious. It’s perfect for mock training.

I took a slow breath. As I circulated my magical power throughout my body, my strength surged. With my lightened body, I kicked the ground strongly and jumped onto the small rooftop two stories high.

Dozens of girls in black combat uniforms climbed onto the building rooftops one by one. I turned my gaze.

Over there, between the alleys, I could see shimmering violet hair.

“There she is! Get her!”

The Violets spread out widely. They formed a relatively loose encirclement and slowly closed the distance. Each Violet became a knot in the net.

Irene, not using her unique ability, was relatively slow compared to the other Awakened Ones.

Of course, “slow” is a relative term. My friend’s running speed is incomparably faster than any 100-meter athlete.

“Fire!”

At Violet 52’s command, the first team’s trio pulled out crossbows and rifles and shot.

Bolts without tips and rubber bullets sliced through the air. Irene dodged with agile movements. The bullets and arrows narrowly missed the innocent walls and floors.

The chase continued for a minute. Between alleys, roofs, walls, and tilted structures, our friend wove skillfully between the net, but each time, we closed in and tightened our encirclement thanks to the constantly updated information from the Violet Network.

After kicking aside the occasionally appearing Scrags, we successfully cornered Irene.

In a corner of the dungeon, the girl leaned against the wall and stopped. Irene faced us with a calm expression, as if she weren’t even tired.

“Fire!”

-Tatatang!

With no signal, a synchronized gesture, with no time lag, aimed shots! Ruthless crossfire struck Irene!

“Ugh! She deflected it!”

She nonchalantly deflected bullets with her spear. In fact, even a bolt that flew toward her face was swatted away like a fly with her bare hand.

On the surface, it seemed meaningless. However, there’s no such thing as a meaningless action. Continuous firing managed to keep her momentarily in place.

“Nice! She’s bound!”

While the gunfire startled our friend, the first and second teams charged in without hesitation. It was a spine-tingling charge, feeling the rush of air above our heads.

At the perfect moment when the shooting stopped, the spear clashed with the sword.

“Push forward!”

While the first team blocked the weapons, the second team rushed in. The second team held nets for capturing monsters and chains.

-Kakakang!

“Kyah!”

As the net flew in, Irene swung her spear and deflected it. A Violet, throwing chains like a lasso, got hit by the spear and flew away.

After exchanging a few attacks, the first and second teams jumped back. Gunfire poured down again. Irene charged in without hesitation.

The first team didn’t retreat and charged in. Maybe it was too troublesome to draw their swords, they had bayonets attached to their firearms.

-Kakang!

As the first team bound Irene, the second team changed their weapons and started shooting again. This time, the third team charged in with nets.

After a few scuffles, Irene raised her hands. She smiled as if satisfied.

“Well done. Seems like you understood it properly.”

Seeing our friend’s reaction, we chuckled.

“How does it feel after trying it out? Not bad, right?”

“Yeah, the modified tactics seem to suit us well!”

I nodded at my friend’s words.

The whale-hunting tactics that Irene taught us had been slightly modified to fit the team of Violets, all of whom were Awakened Ones.

Charging fiercely through buildings while pressuring with gunfire, or the rear team charging in reverse against counter-attacking enemies were tactics that didn’t exist in our previous strategy.

Of course, there were many things omitted. Things like self-destruction or counter-firing inside were beyond anything our potential enemies could imagine.

For just a moment, I imagined launching a signal flare magnificently and making a grand gesture of self-destruction amidst the sea of flames.

“When the day comes… I’ll shout that out magnificently.”

“Broken Arrow!”

Once we have artillery and air support ready, we’ll have to try that too.

“Well, this is just basic tactics. We’ll need to fill in the gaps separately. But…”

She pointed her spear at 52.

“You made one mistake. Did you really corner her?”

I was taken aback.

“You said to corner her, right? The back is blocked by a wall.”

I pointed to the behind Irene. She silently shook her head with a smile.

“No, Violet. That’s a thought that only a Non-Awakened would have. We’re Awakened Ones, right?”

“…Ah? Oh! Right!”

As I realized my mistake, Irene released golden magical power from her whole body and charged towards the wall behind her. With a tremendous sound, the wall crumbled like a cookie. She escaped through the gap.

“Ugh! Stop!”

“Alright, Violets. It’s a second match now. Focus and run!”

The Violets, standing there dumbfounded, snapped back to reality as Irene called out. She was running while breaking the building’s outer wall. We ran after her, dumbfounded.

This time, we’re definitely going to catch her!

*

As three teams chased after Irene, the big boy was receiving training.

Inside an empty building, several Violets surrounded one boy.

“…I don’t know. Is this really going to help?”

“Yes, it’ll help!”

As he hesitated, we spoke with firm determination.

The name of the boy standing before us is Granite Burniers. A first-year male student at Polaris Academy.

He stands nearly 2 meters tall. His primary weapon is a massive poleaxe. He has a powerful attack strength that matches the weapons he wields.

However, his combat will isn’t proportional to his attack power. He’s not as cowardly as Levi, but when most of our team members casually wipe out monsters, it’s a serious problem. Daphne is an exception since she’s a non-combatant!

I thought. He may be a bit clumsy and naive, but objectively, he’s a good boy.

Just look at how he carried me to the infirmary when I was drunk.

His backstory was nothing special. According to Manager Leslie’s investigation, it went like this.

“So, it seems you came from outside the academy city.”

“Yes, that’s right. My parents left home when I was young, and I was raised by my grandparents. It says here that I helped with logging in the village before I awakened.”

“In other words, he’s a lumberjack.”

His hometown was a small village on the outskirts near a barrier. It was primarily a logging and agricultural town.

Thinking back, his personality resembled that of a blunt but simple young man from a rural area.

Being kind is good. However, a naive lumberjack from a rural town is not needed in the Army of Violets.

Our companions need to be like this.

A Marine who chews on crayons as a snack.

A warrior from hell, shouting blessings of blood while offering the heads of enemies to a savage barbarian god.

A horror of a barbarian who enjoys making trophies out of enemy heads!

Someone who burns down the enemy’s village in the morning, enjoys throwing children on sticks for lunch while bonding with fellow warriors, and ignites his artistic sensibilities while making skull cups.

A Viking who drinks strong liquor late into the night, reminiscing about the joy of slaughter!

That’s the kind of Granite we want. Not a big coward who’s afraid of bugs and reluctantly fights monsters.

Unfortunately, unlike Levi, this guy had a pretty strong sense of self. Instantly instilling courage would be impossible.

Fortunately, he recognized his own problem well.

“Honestly, I’m scared of fighting monsters. I still remember the moment of awakening. That big, hideous mouth… I’d be dead in the forest if I hadn’t awakened.”

“But you survived, didn’t you? You can do it!”

It requires patience and a slow process of injecting courage.

As I encouraged him, Granite scratched his head as if unsure.

After all, does quantity solve everything?

The waiting Violets outside entered the room, surrounding him further.

“Granite. From now on, you’re going to be a proud warrior of blood! A warrior of courage!”

“W-What suddenly does that mean…”

No matter how he reacted, we ignored it and continued our thought injection. The image of a brave warrior!

“Let’s be revolutionary warriors! Brave champions of revolution!”

“Skulls! Blood! Violence!”

“Ugh…! What the heck…?”

I kept chattering away in his ears. I slipped in some topics that would interest a boy.

“We’ll take the monster’s skull and offer it to the Warrior God! And we’ll go to heaven!”

“They say that when you go to heaven, you can date 72 maidens!”

“Uh… wait, what kind of absurd thing is that? That seems like too much; I’m not that perverted.”

Bringing up harem and crusade stories made Granite serious. That was my mistake. Was it too absurd?

I changed the subject.

“Forget about that earlier. Let’s try something else. Repeat after me: ‘I am a real man!'”

“I… I am a real man!”

“Say it louder!”

“I AM A REAL MAN!”

Good! He follows that well. Now, shall we move on to the next stage?

“I love skulls! I love blood!”

“I love skulls! I love blood… Ah. This doesn’t seem right…”

Ah. He’s resisting! I think I need to drag this out.

“Repeat after me. ‘To the Warrior God, glory of blood!'”

“T-To the Warrior God, glory of blood!”

Whether it takes days or months, I will definitely inject courage into this team member. Just like the Wizard of Oz did for the cowardly lion!

There’s no tree that doesn’t fall after being hit ten times, and even water drops will pierce stone if they keep falling.

The Violets decided to devote 24 hours to turning this boy into a warrior like Levi.