On the Training Corps' camp grounds, the 104th cadets were preparing to begin their first training.
Instructor Keith Shadis stood before the many cadets.
"If you want to break free from the fate of livestock, the first thing you must do is determine your own talent. Behind me is the aerial balance simulation device. Only those who can remain steadily on it for one minute are qualified to stay here. Otherwise, obediently roll back and go be livestock! Understood?"
"Understood!"
"Begin now!"
Yago felt a bit disappointed. He had thought the very first training session would let them come into contact with the vertical maneuvering equipment.
But thinking about it, that made sense. Before mastering enough skills, how could such an important weapon possibly be handed over to a bunch of greenhorns?
During the period he had spent in the Survey Corps, Yago had already witnessed the power of the vertical maneuvering equipment. Not to mention anything else—just the high-pressure steel cables alone, when fired out explosively, had more than enough impact force to skewer a person straight through.
If the cadets were exposed to it in their very first lesson, without understanding the vertical maneuvering equipment, there might be a few unlucky ones who would end up dying at the hands of their comrades before ever reaching the battlefield.
The purpose of this simulation device was actually very simple: using ropes to suspend a person in midair and then maintain bodily balance as much as possible. After all, the vertical maneuvering equipment required flying into the air to fight Titans. If you couldn't even grasp basic balance, forget killing Titans—you might end up falling to your death yourself.
Clipping the two ropes onto his waist, Yago nodded to Marco beside him. "All set. I'm ready."
Marco began turning the handwheel of the simulator. The ropes slowly rose, and gradually Yago's feet left the ground. When he was completely suspended, Yago clearly felt his body becoming unstable. But the next moment, the belts strapped to him began to do their job. The belt at his waist shared the weight of his upper body, while the belt across his back tightened as his body swayed slightly forward and back, stabilizing his shaking frame.
As for the belts on his legs, Yago carefully sensed them. By slightly rotating his legs, he could make small adjustments to his center of gravity. In other words, to perform various movements in midair, he could use his legs to fine-tune things.
Yago stabilized himself very quickly, aside from a slight sway as his body moved with the wind.
The surrounding cadets were all surprised. He had actually succeeded on the first try.
Instructor Keith Shadis, standing to the side, also nodded to himself. This cadet's talent was indeed excellent. He then looked to the other side at Mikasa, who was only a bit slower than Yago and was likewise hanging steadily.
After removing the ropes, Yago gestured for the next person to continue. Marco stepped up.
"Yago, that was amazing. If I fail, you've got to teach me," Marco said as he tugged on the rope.
Yago: "Alright."
However, Marco didn't end up needing Yago's guidance. After struggling in the air for a while, although he failed, he didn't give up. After a few more attempts, he was able to more or less stabilize himself.
With nothing better to do, Yago looked around. Balance training actually wasn't difficult; even ordinary people could master it with enough practice.
Aside from Yago and Mikasa, there were many talented cadets as well. For example, Sasha—not only could she stay stable in midair, she could even swing back and forth like she was on a swing, just playing around. It wasn't until Connie couldn't stand it anymore that he shouted loudly,
"Hey! You! Haven't you played enough already? A lot of us haven't even started yet!"
Yago wasn't just wandering around either. If a cadet really couldn't grasp the technique, Yago would give some guidance, because his perception was very sharp and he could roughly see each person's muscle distribution.
Thinking about it carefully, Yago's strength, speed, endurance, and perception were all outstanding—he was practically the perfect candidate for a warrior. But Yago didn't think too much about it.
"What are you trying to do?" Ymir looked at Yago warily, shielding Historia behind her. She had just seen Yago reaching toward Historia, and fortunately she had arrived in time.
Yago: "...Hey, what's with that look like I'm some kind of scumbag? I didn't do anything!"
Historia said embarrassedly, "Ymir, I asked Yago to help me. I'm too clumsy—I can't keep my balance."
Ymir: "! Even so, you can't let that guy touch you! What if he has bad intentions?"
Yago: "That's going too far, Ymir! What do you mean bad intentions? What kind of person do you think I am?"
Joking aside, even though Historia was very pretty, no matter how pretty she was, she was still a child. Yago wasn't that depraved.
"Speaking of which, Ymir, I think you're the one acting strange, clinging to Historia all day long."
The more Yago thought about it, the more something felt off. No wonder every time Ymir looked at him, her gaze carried that weird, jealous feeling. So it turned out Ymir was the one coveting Historia's body!
Ymir: "Hah, I'm a girl. What's it to you? Come on, Historia. It's just a simulation device—I'll teach you."
With that, she grabbed Historia and left.
Historia looked back at Yago with an apologetic expression.
"Damn it." Yago fumed. Without realizing it, he walked over to two people nearby—Reiner and Bertholdt. The two were gathered together, seemingly talking about something.
"Reiner? What are you guys doing?" Yago leaned in. The two of them changed expressions. When had Yago appeared? Had he heard what they were just saying?
"What are you doing here? You two done with training?" Yago asked.
Reiner said with an unnatural expression, "Ah, training—yeah, we finished that a long time ago."
"Then what are you two doing here?"
"We, uh—we were talking about our hometown!"
Yago: "Your hometown? The southern district of Wall Maria?"
Bertholdt hurriedly picked up the thread.
"Yes! Those damn Titans destroyed our village. Reiner and I escaped together. The others all..."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I hope you can stay strong. Once we grow powerful enough, sooner or later we'll take Wall Maria back."
Reiner nodded in agreement. "That's right. We'll become strong warriors, and then return to our hometown!"
The word "warrior" felt unfamiliar. Yago's head suddenly throbbed, and a fragmentary, chaotic set of memories surged up.
...
"They don't understand at all! I'm the real genius! The strongest warrior? Completely laughable compared to my work! Hahahaha!"
"What! How is that possible! Impossible, trash! You ruined my life's work! Ah—die, trash!"
...
Seeing Yago suddenly go blank, Reiner couldn't help but shake him.
"Yago? What's wrong?"
Coming back to his senses, Yago's expression didn't look very good.
"It's nothing. My head just started hurting all of a sudden. I'll head off first."
Holding his head, Yago turned and left. After Yago had gone far away, Reiner's expression turned uncertain.
"Reiner, do you think he heard us?" Bertholdt asked worriedly.
Reiner: "Probably not. That was too careless of us. We didn't even notice him coming over. We need to be careful these next few days. If anything seems off, we retreat immediately. We absolutely have to return to our hometown!"
"Yeah!"