Of the soldier squads that participated in the dungeon raids, several stood out. But without a doubt, the one that caught Jim's attention the most was the one led by that young man with the determined gaze and short black hair: Marcus. The same youth with the handkerchief.
Marcus led a team of four with stupendous coordination. Whenever one faltered, the other was there to block the blows of the goblins and cavemen.
Balto, the lancer, with a sharp face and aquiline nose—the comrade Marcus always consulted whenever he had a doubt.
Pit, with a shield and a mace. A giant with a gentle smile, who always kept a cool head even in the middle of battle.
And Harris, the youngest of the four, a boy with green eyes and straight golden hair cut to neck-length, who clearly struggled to keep up with his comrades' pace. Jimbo assumes he must be 14 or 15 years old, and when he asked Hilda if it is normal for people that age to join the army, Hilda raised an eyebrow and clarified that there is nothing peculiar about it.
"If they are old enough to marry, they are old enough to fight for the realm," the captain said.
Jimbo reminded himself that it is a mistake to evaluate the realm using the judgments of his original world.
The reason for choosing Marcus and his group wasn't just that they showed talent. Other men and women also performed with ease in all the trials. But Marcus was the first to raise his hand and volunteer when Hilda told them about the idea of a training course where there is a real possibility of dying.
Curiously, one of the most enthusiastic about the idea was Captain Lynel. When Jimbo asked Hilda why the old soldier was so excited, the captain explained that Lynel has ancestry from the city-states.
"The city-states are a non-aligned realm. In fact, they do not have kings but commanders. If you ask a noble, they will tell you they are savages who should have been purged by the Sorcerer King during the pacification... If you ask me, they are warriors who should not be underestimated. I heard they train from childhood and that several die in the process."
«And does such severity work for them?»
"Of course. There is a reason they remain independent."
«Do you agree with their way of doing things?»
"Obviously not." The captain's eye narrows. "Discipline is necessary, but unlike the children born and raised in the city-states, soldiers choose this life of their own free will; nothing was imposed on them."
Marcus and his team arrive at the starting chamber. They look relaxed; they are already used to the basic rhythms of the dungeon. But when a screech is heard, and the bone gate slides open to make way for the route marked with a red hand, the men's shoulders tense at the promise of unknown threats. Even so, when Hilda asks if they are ready to enter, the four line up and, with their heads held high, say in unison that they are more than prepared.
"If there is a time to turn back, that time is now," the captain says, sweeping her gaze over the group.
Jimbo watches as Harris parts his lips, but upon noticing that his comrades are quiet and determined, the boy swallows his doubts.
Hilda gives them permission to proceed, and the soldiers enter the stone hallway leading them to the first trial.
«Captain Lynel isn't coming?»
"He's busy, it's his granddaughter's birthday," Hilda says without taking her eye off the men walking away into the corridor. Once Marcus and his group are no longer visible, the captain faces Jim's presence. "I'll follow you to the secret shortcut. I want to evaluate my men's performance."
«Don't have faith in them or what?»
"I trust them completely. You are the one who makes me doubt."
«Ouch. That hurt.»
Jimbo allowed himself to joke. He couldn't complain; his conversations with Hilda were much more bearable ever since she stopped trying to tear him to pieces.
...
Before reaching the first trial, Marcus's group hears the sound of heavy swinging, causing them to slow their pace. The soldiers exchange glances.
"The captain was very clear about this... We have to treat the challenge as if we were invading the domain of a wild dungeon," Marcus comments, trusting his group is fully focused.
"If those presumptuous idiots from the adventurer guilds can handle this, why can't we?" Balto says. "We're veterans, we've already been in the war... Well, almost all of us. We have one here who's still a virgin."
He elbows Harris. The boy remains quiet, his head bowed.
They arrive at the first room, and the source of the sound comes to light. Just like in the intermediate difficulty route, instead of a narrow bridge there are stone platforms, barely large enough to hold a grown man, but added to that is what stands in the middle.
Constantly swung by vines, heavy boulders act as pendulums between the platforms. Harris pales and gulps. Pit peers into the void.
"I can see the bottom," Pit says, making the rest look as well.
Instead of unfathomable darkness, the bottom of the drop is visible, but rather than being a source of comfort, it unsettles their hearts due to the sharp stalagmites below.
"Don't worry, guys." Marcus quickly speaks up, flashing a smile meant to convey confidence. "It might look different, but we've done this a handful of times already. The key is not to fall."
It's an obvious statement, and saying it aloud perhaps makes it sound foolish, but both Balto and Pit cling to that simple logic for the sake of their own peace of mind.
"Who goes first?" Harris asks with a noticeable tremble in his voice.
Marcus decides to speak with actions. He stands at the edge and looks straight ahead, at the platforms and the boulders he must avoid. He breathes to relax and remembers that he still has the handkerchief with the embroidered crystal, a detail that gives him strength. Marcus feels he owes a lot to the Dungeon Core; that's what motivated him to volunteer for these new trials.
The Dungeon Core not only saved his sister and his father; Marcus is certain it was the crystal's influence that led him to interfere in the captains' assassination attempt—an event that later turned him into a minor local celebrity. Before that, he was just another soldier.
That's why Marcus finds it hard to hesitate. He feels safe because so far, the Dungeon Core, whatever it may be, has bestowed many blessings upon him. Even more than those distant gods he was taught to pray to since childhood.
Marcus studies the pattern of the first pendulum, and as soon as the boulder passes in front of him with a harsh whoosh and a gust of wind, the young soldier leaps with all his might and lands on the first platform. Due to the momentum, he almost falls face-first into the void, but he flails his arms and regains his balance.
He is alive.
He lets out a sigh of relief and turns back to his group, smiling. The soldiers' spirits lift; they now feel more capable of overcoming the challenge. The stone pendulums are intimidating, but beyond the initial impression, they allow a considerable amount of time to jump; they just have to wait for the right moment and not think about the gruesome death below.
One by one, they clear the different platforms. The soldiers discovered Marcus was right: even though the platforms are more compact, the distance between them is almost the same as on the intermediate route. These are jumps they are used to.
"Alert, everyone!" Balto exclaims as soon as they reach the halfway point.
Goblins are summoned on the sides and begin throwing rocks. Marcus, using the flat side of his sword, bats a couple of projectiles back. One of the goblins is hit in the chest and vanishes, turning to dust.
Balto twirls his spear, blocking the stones. Pit and Harris do the same with their shields. A minute passes and the throwing ceases. The soldiers relax upon realizing the goblins ran out of stones, and the only thing left for the little beasts to do is grunt in powerlessness.
Marcus turns back to congratulate his group, at which point he notices their shocked expressions of horror. The moment Marcus turns around, he sees a green figure clinging to the nearest pendulum.
The small monster, indifferent to its own safety, leaps from the vine and tackles the soldier, throwing him off balance.
Both fall off the platform toward the spikes.
Jimbo looks away. Hilda, in the secret shortcut, watching through disguised cracks in the wall, clenches her jaw.
Balto curses and jumps. The pendulum nearly takes him out. He lands on his belly on the platform and extends his spear with one hand. Balto's arm tenses as a heavy weight pulls downward, but he manages to hold on.
Marcus is left dangling, one hand gripping the end of the spear's shaft, his arm resting against the blade—a position that cuts his flesh and makes him bleed. Meters below, the goblin is impaled on a stalagmite, where it remains for a couple of seconds before disappearing.
Pit and Harris watch anxiously. Balto manages to retract the spear and pull Marcus up. Jimbo, seeing this, sighs, impressed. Hilda relaxes.
The rest of the goblins stay out of it; Jim only programmed the jump instruction into one of them. But since the soldiers don't know that, they complete the rest of the course with maximum caution, always guarding their flanks.
The soldiers reach the other end of the room, clearing the first trial. Marcus, using a ki technique, stops the bleeding in his arm. The others allow themselves to pant in relief.