Time always flows by swiftly and silently.
It has been one year since Nachahmer began training with his fellow recruits.
Having shared their joys and sorrows, they had now formed a respectable squad.
His rank had also advanced one step; he was no longer a recruit, but a Private (Schütze).
They had passed the stage of simple basic training and acclimating to military life. Now was the time to prepare for the future by choosing their respective military occupational specialties.
Considering the war against the Soul Reapers that would break out in a few decades, assigning every single person to a combat role without exception would be the best way to increase the probability of victory.
Unfortunately, they did not have ancestors who could cook massive amounts of food or breathe intangible energy into their descendants for the sake of battle.
Unless, of course, those ancestors had already been broken down into Reishi and scattered into pieces after having their very souls crushed by the first generation of the Gotei 13.
For that reason...
There were culinary soldiers who always prepared the meals.
There were medical soldiers who delivered unfortunate news to the patients.
There were logistics soldiers, the position with the most frequent personnel changes due to clueless embezzlers, who managed supplies.
There were even support soldiers... no, administrative soldiers who filled in for their superiors' negligence.
A variety of positions existed.
However, the majority, excluding a few technical soldiers, were general combat soldiers.
Thus, most had a high probability of going into the most common combat roles.
These assignments were officially decided at the one-year mark of enlistment, once all basic qualification training was completed.
Lately, most of Nachahmer's peers had been discussing this very issue.
"Hamer, you're going for the general assault branch, right?"
"I suppose so. It's not like we really have a choice, anyway."
"That's true."
Generally, if officers see abilities they deem efficient—such as good calculation skills, exceptional quick-wittedness, or talent in cooking—they can assign a position at their discretion.
The system was such that all soldiers were initially assigned as combatants, and then personnel for other roles were drafted from that pool.
"You said you wanted the assault branch too, right, Belma?"
"Yeah. But I told you not to call me that."
His comrade of one year, Belmaia Bank.
As they gradually became closer, they often called each other by shortened nicknames, and they were no exception.
"But you said you didn't like 'Mai' or 'Maia' either."
"Ugh, this name, seriously!"
'Belma,' the shortened version of Belmaia, sounded like a fairly feminine name.
The feeling was even stronger because the heroines of a novel currently popular among the younger generation were named Velma and Louise.
That was why Belmaia always used the end of his name rather than the beginning for his nickname.
"It's fine. I saw an Eastern recruit the other day whose name was Dahye. He was about as tall as I am.”
"...Was it a guy?"
"Yeah. So try to find some common ground. Maybe that'll be the catalyst to form a deep bond of camaraderie..."
"Stop right there."
Belmaia grumbled about his name, and Nachahmer offered him ineffective comfort.
It was a familiar routine for the two of them.
"You're... how should I put it? I don't mean it as an insult, but it's like you're missing something.”
"Really? I evaluate myself as making progressive improvements.”
Nachahmer thought he had achieved some results by experiencing a localized form of 'social life' during his time as a recruit.
"Exactly that. You use words that only appear in books. It's not that you have a bad personality at all, but there's something strangely off-putting... You're definitely better than before, though.”
It was an evaluation that could have been quite unpleasant to hear, but Nachahmer listened intently, thinking that even this would be helpful.
"Hmm, if you say so, then there must be such a part of me. However, it's something I find difficult to perceive myself right now. I'll keep it in mind for the future.”
"...Right..."
Indeed, he didn't mind much.
They were comrades, after all, so what did it matter?
He was simply worried about the live combat training scheduled for next week.
*****
A Soul Reaper's Zanpakuto and a Quincy's Reishi weapon possess excellent combat power in their own right.
Since objects in the form of blades are always honed by feeding on blood, life-or-death battles further amplify their sharpness.
However, those two weapons have a more fundamental and important role beyond mere combat.
Though they have recently been achieving more results against humanoid creatures, the reason for their creation was the Hollow.
A Zanpakuto returns a Hollow to a human soul and guides it to the Soul Society.
A Quincy's Heilig Bogen completely eradicates the human soul that has transformed into a Hollow.
This difference can be seen as the cause that brought about the massive conflict between the two sides.
The point is, no matter how high one's interpersonal combat power is, if they cannot kill a Hollow, they cannot be called a Quincy.
Therefore, training to gain combat experience by facing non-humanoid, beast-type, or monstrous Hollows is also included in the regular curriculum.
Separately from the current determination of assignments for Nachahmer's class, the original training was proceeding as planned.
The live combat training in Hueco Mundo, the highest level of difficulty, was near the end of the schedule.
Hueco Mundo is a place where Soul Reapers cannot easily enter, avoiding the risk of contact with them in the World of the Living.
Specifically, the training takes place in the remote outskirts, as far as possible from the areas ruled by the highest-class Hollows, the Vasto Lordes.
At this time, the soldiers would cast aside the tools they had used during training.
The weighted coats that used Reishi to increase their mass.
The 'Leiden Hand,' which intentionally made it difficult to manifest weapons by distorting the principle of gathering Reishi and instead scattering it.
And a type of gravitational field with high Reishi density created artificially.
They would throw off the various restraints that had limited them, hunting Hollows in peak condition to be evaluated.
And on the day of training.
"Today, you will all demonstrate the results of the training you have undergone in the past.
Passing through this gate will take you directly to Hueco Mundo. Each squad will move sequentially, accompanied by two officers.
Of course, unless your lives are in danger, the officers will absolutely not interfere in the battle."
They thought they had grown accustomed to the military, but they were still reminded that they were greenhorns who had never experienced real combat.
Everyone was stiff, their tension palpable.
"However, if a life
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