"Speaking of which, I always feel like the way you look at me is kind of weird."
Ymir asked casually, but there was a subtle, almost imperceptible vigilance hidden in her eyes, along with a sharp glint of shrewdness.
Rayan frowned slightly. He had not expected Ymir to be so sensitive, actually noticing it.
Indeed, no matter how he tried to disguise it, the way he looked at someone with the power of a titan was bound to be slightly different from how he looked at ordinary people. The warrior trio had never noticed, but Ymir had.
This was likely due to life experience. After all, Reiner's group were just teenagers in their early teens, their values not yet fully formed. Even after years of training and brainwashing, their personalities had not yet solidified.
Otherwise, if Reiner had a truly mature mindset, he would not have developed a split personality. Compared to them, Ymir was different. If you counted her actual age, she could easily be the great-grandmother of their entire class, especially considering the sixty years she had spent wandering outside the walls as a mindless titan.
Having lived through so much, Ymir was far more mature than the others, and her insight was naturally sharper.
Still, although she harbored some doubts at this moment, her words were deliberately flippant, hiding her probing nature behind teasing.
"Say, you do not like me, do you?"
"Huh...? No."
"Tsk, whether you are being disingenuous or whatever," Ymir shook her head with a grin. "Anyway, I like Krista, and we are going to get married in the future."
"Is that so? Then let me offer my congratulations on your happy marriage and everlasting love."
"Hahaha," Ymir laughed happily. "Good, I love hearing that." With that, she pulled the trigger, the ropes shot out, and her body launched into the air. "See ya, shorty."
"..."
Watching Ymir's figure disappear into the distance, Rayan let out a long breath of relief.
In any case, he did not want Ymir to know that he was aware she was an intelligent titan. Although given her personality, even if she knew, she probably would not kill him, it was still far from ideal.
"It is almost here."
Three years had passed in the blink of an eye. Rayan, like everyone else, had not only grown taller but had also gained the strength to fight titans. Of course, this strength had not appeared overnight but was the result of relentless, cruel training. After all, cutting down wooden titans was vastly different from fighting real ones.
Although ordinary titans moved relatively slowly, they were still far stronger than these stationary wooden targets. Moreover, the ever-present fear of death when facing real titans would inevitably affect one's true strength, unlike when practicing on wooden dummies with no psychological burden.
But no matter what, Rayan had now mastered the use of vertical maneuvering equipment.
For him, this had been the goal from the start. Mastering this gear allowed him to move quickly through this world, or more precisely, within the island and the walls, rather than simply relying on his legs.
Of course, the past three years were not spent solely on maneuvering practice. The comprehensive training program had benefited Rayan greatly. Horsemanship, combat, military strategy, craftsmanship, logistics, marching — every subject had molded those who endured into true soldiers in every sense.
Nevertheless, vertical maneuvering was still the top priority. In fact, although this world was incredibly cruel, Rayan was truly happy to have mastered it. Because this equipment was a remarkable piece of black technology.
Even in the twenty-first century on Blue Star, where space stations existed, humanity still had not achieved the dream of true free flight. Airplanes, gliders, parachutes — they all existed, but none offered the kind of elegant, precise control that vertical maneuvering provided. Despite its limitations, it allowed humans to "fly" freely to some extent, provided there were anchor points.
That alone made it endlessly attractive to Rayan, and after mastering it, he had been excited for a long time. Only now was that excitement beginning to fade, overshadowed by a far grimmer reality.
Graduation was just around the corner.
For the trainees of the 104th Squad, these three years had been the only good days they would ever know. Once they graduated, crises would arrive one after another, and people would start to die. The cruel world was about to reveal its true face.
---
Training Grounds
At the training grounds, the trainees were engaged in hand-to-hand combat practice. Most were only going through the motions.
This was because, although hand-to-hand combat was part of the curriculum, it was not included in the overall score. Whether you excelled or struggled at it had no impact on your final ranking. The general consensus was clear — humanity's enemy was the titans, and so hand-to-hand combat was considered useless.
Of course, a few still trained seriously. But not because they thought it mattered — rather, it was out of pure habit to treat every form of training with dedication. Eren, for example, even though he personally found it pointless, still gave it his all.
Reiner, his current opponent, was clearly frustrated, getting thrown to the ground in no time. In this regard, he was no match for Eren. If he fought seriously, though, it would be another story.
Rayan watched from a corner, squatting lazily without even bothering to pretend.
Instructor Keith could do nothing about it. It was not that Rayan refused to practice. It was that no one dared to spar with him.
After all, his nickname "Mighty Midget" was well known throughout the camp, and everyone was terrified that one punch from him could leave a hole in their body. No one dared to challenge him.
Naturally, this left Rayan quite frustrated. Over the years, he had learned to perfectly control his power, able to unleash or restrain it at will. He was no longer the reckless kid whose strength burst out the moment he got emotional.
But the others did not know that. And Rayan could not explain, so he had no choice but to accept it.
Still, at least it allowed him some peace and quiet.
"Rayan!"
So much for peace and quiet.
Rayan looked up to see Eren and Reiner walking toward him. Eren held out his hand.
"Come on, let's practice."
"Huh?"
"Hey, Eren, are you serious?" Reiner looked at Rayan with a mix of worry and amusement. "This guy is the Mighty Midget."
"..."
It had to be said, over these years, everyone had become good friends. They even dared to call him by that nickname right to his face.
"I think you guys are exaggerating way too much," Eren said as Rayan stood up.
"Alright," Rayan said with a smirk. "I am bored anyway."
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