"You guys, look! Mikasa is so fast!" a trainee shouted in surprise.
"She's amazing!" Sasha exclaimed.
Mikasa moved as smoothly as flowing water, weaving freely through the forest. In no time, she burst out from the other side.
"Mikasa Ackerman — 27 seconds," the technician announced after timing her.
"Wow!" The trainees gasped in unison.
"Great job, Mikasa! Too bad you didn't beat the Captain," Eren said excitedly, though with a hint of regret.
"Eren, Mikasa is already incredible. Captain Levi is known as humanity's strongest soldier. How could we new recruits possibly surpass him…" Armin replied.
Just as Armin finished speaking, another figure as fast as Mikasa shot out, accompanied by the sharp whir of maneuvering cables. The moment Chen Si launched himself, he felt as though operating the ODM gear was as easy as typing on a keyboard.
In front of Chen Si, every obstacle seemed nonexistent. The instant his eyes registered one, his body had already moved to avoid it. As he neared the finish line, arcs of electricity suddenly crackled across his body.
Hidden beneath the trees, no one could see clearly — but his already incredible speed suddenly surged even higher. The finish line arrived in an instant.
"Si… Chen… 23 seconds…" the timekeeper said hesitantly. If he weren't confident in his own professionalism — the best in the military — he might have thought he miscalculated.
"These two are monsters, one worse than the other," Jean muttered, jaw nearly dropping.
"With that kind of speed, dealing with Titans must be easy," Connie said excitedly.
"That's right! We can't fall behind either. Connie, let's go!" Jean added.
"Okay! Sasha, can you keep up with me?" Connie challenged.
"If I win, you give me your dinner!" Sasha shouted, already sprinting off.
"Hahaha, this is amazing, Chen Si! Even the Captain can't match you!" Eren jumped excitedly.
"Keep it low-key, keep it low-key." Chen Si raised a finger to his lips.
Seeing Mikasa and Chen Si's performances, Historia's eyes flashed with fighting spirit as she firmly launched forward.
After further testing, the results were announced:
Si Chen — 23 seconds
Mikasa Ackerman — 27 seconds
Annie Leonhart — 30 seconds
Reiner Braun — 32 seconds
Bertholdt Hoover — 33 seconds
Eren Yeager — 38 seconds
Jean Kirstein — 38 seconds
Marco Bott — 38 seconds
Connie Springer — 40 seconds
Sasha Blouse — 40 seconds
Krista and Armin scored 42 and 45 seconds respectively — both above average compared to previous classes.
Keith Shadis looked at them with immense satisfaction. The 104th Training Corps was the strongest class he had ever led — unprecedented in the Corps' history. Every trainee finished within 50 seconds. The average was an astonishing 48 seconds. Even Levi's class had averaged 52 seconds.
He began reviewing each trainee:
"Reiner Braun — possesses tremendous physical strength and a resilient spirit. Trusted by his comrades."
"Armin Arlert — physically behind the others, but tactically and theoretically exceptional."
"Annie Leonhart — fierce attacks, flawless cutting techniques, but lacks teamwork. A lone wolf."
"Bertholdt Hoover — excels in every category, great potential, but lacks initiative."
"Jean Kirstein — outstanding control of ODM gear, but too sharp and prone to friction."
"Sasha Blouse — possesses a hunter's instinct, a strong sixth sense, but not suited for team combat."
"Connie Springer — solid in all metrics, adaptable where lacking, but not particularly sharp-minded."
"Eren Yeager — no standout specialty, but possesses unimaginable perseverance and drive. Willing to work harder than anyone. Strong sense of purpose."
"Mikasa Ackerman — perfect across all subjects. A once-in-a-generation genius. A born warrior."
"Si Chen — exceptionally intelligent, innovative in academics, first in all combat subjects. Both scholar and warrior. A true perfect soldier and natural leader."
Keith Shadis closed his notebook and looked at them once more, eyes full of hope.
"The future inside the Walls is in your hands."
Hand-to-Hand Combat Class
The trainees groaned with little enthusiasm for unarmed combat. Most were slacking off…
Except—
"Ow, ow, that hurts!" Reiner was thrown to the ground by one of Eren's shoulder throws.
You're really good at pretending, Chen Si thought, chewing on a blade of grass while standing aside. He used to think that kind of show-off behavior was foolish — but now that he had the strength to back it up, it actually worked. He'd noticed quite a few girls sneaking glances his way.
For some reason, Mikasa had been especially intense today, throwing trainee after trainee — even girls — without holding back.
Because of his outstanding performance, Keith turned a blind eye to Chen Si slacking off.
"Reiner, why are you sitting down again?" Chen Si walked over and pulled him up.
Eren helped brush the dust off Reiner.
"Eren's hand-to-hand skills are really strong. I was outmatched," Reiner said honestly.
Chen Si shot him a look of keep pretending. Reiner felt a chill. But he didn't think too much of it — going easy on comrades wasn't unusual.
"Chen Si, Eren, look — Annie's slacking off. As comrades, shouldn't you go urge her?" Reiner suggested.
Chen Si was curious how he compared to Annie in technique. He usually relied on Ackerman strength and rarely needed refined technique.
"Annie should be strong," Chen Si said.
"Good! Then let me try!" Eren's fighting spirit ignited.
Annie looked dark and cold as Reiner confronted her with veiled meaning.
Eren rushed in.
He was immediately kicked down and couldn't get up.
"That's it?" Chen Si blinked.
"Can I leave now?" Annie said calmly.
"There's still the knife-role practice," Reiner said.
Eren struggled up to protest—
But Annie moved first.
A kick to the waist. A grip on the arm. A clean 180-degree flip.
Bang.
Eren lay flat.
Annie picked up the wooden sword and tossed it to Reiner.
"Your turn."
Reiner sighed.
"Soldiers must face what they must face."
Bang.
Another "octopus" on the ground.
Chen Si stared. Brutal.
"You… are you going to attack me too?" Annie asked Chen Si.
"Nope. Just passing through. I don't know these two at all— Hey! Why are you charging at me?!"
Annie lunged.
Chen Si had no choice but to defend himself.
Her kick sliced toward his head. He ducked and swept low. She retracted instantly and jumped, driving her knee toward his chest. He blocked, forced back one step — her follow-up kick came immediately.
Chen Si narrowed his eyes and punched toward her leg.
Just before impact, he shifted — grabbing her ankle and yanking hard while striking toward her face.
Throughout the fight, Annie had been subtly guarding her lower body.
Chen Si didn't think much of it.
What he didn't know… was that the person Annie used to spar with often had very questionable habits.