Adrian surveyed the area, then glanced back at his classmates behind him.
"All right, everyone. Next comes the combat assessment."
The female major on the platform stepped forward to speak.
"As you have probably noticed, after the shooting test, each class has a different number of students who qualified. That makes inter-class competition impractical."
The students below breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"I thought we were going to fight the other classes. How the hell were seven of us supposed to take on Class One?"
"Yeah. They have more than twenty people. If they all rushed us at once, we wouldn’t stand a chance."
"It’d be best if they mixed up all six classes and split us into teams like they usually do. Then we might still have a shot at becoming soldiers."
During regular training, all six classes were mixed together into squads to make the exercises more realistic.
That was also how the weaker Class Six had made it this far. The academy’s classes were generally ranked by ability: Class One was the strongest, followed by Class Two, all the way down to Class Six.
Most students assigned to Adrian’s Class Six had little natural talent.
Either they got lucky, became soldiers, and acquired resources in Battlefield Instances, or they became ordinary civilians and entered the workforce.
Still, the six students standing here were clearly among the lucky ones. They had passed the shooting test.
"Quiet, everyone."
The female major frowned. To her, talking among themselves while a superior officer was speaking was a serious breach of discipline.
"To ensure a fair contest for every class, we will send instructor teams to fight you."
As she said this, the major glanced at Class Six, the smallest group.
"Each class will form a squad. We instructors will field an opposing squad with an equal number of personnel."
The students of Class Six immediately felt their hearts sink.
"How are bottom-rankers like us supposed to fight actual soldiers?"
"Good thing I contacted a factory already. Otherwise, I might not even have a job after this."
Class Six was steeped in gloom.
Class One, on the other hand, looked exactly as composed as before.
"Strange. Aren’t they worried at all?"
Adrian was curious.
The students in the other five classes were all panicking at the prospect of fighting real soldiers.
Yet Class One remained remarkably calm.
Truthfully, Adrian was not entirely confident either.
He had only fought alongside NPCs and mercenaries. He had no idea how capable genuine soldiers were in combat.
But Adrian had an edge no one else possessed, so he was not worried.
"Each class, collect your equipment as instructed."
The female major ordered everyone to line up and receive their exercise gear.
The exercise weapons fired laser training rounds.
These training rifles simulated the recoil and sound of real weapons.
They simply could not fire live ammunition.
Instead, they emitted laser signals. If one of those signals struck a trainee, the watch they wore would register the hit.
"Class One goes first."
The venue was an indoor training complex constructed from wooden panels.
The objective of this assessment was to eliminate every instructor inside the training complex.
The instructors numbered half as many as the trainees.
"Let’s move. We’ve done this kind of exercise plenty of times."
A tall, dark-skinned teenager took the lead in Class One.
He was Garrett, Class One’s class monitor.
He hooked one hand around his rifle and racked the bolt with a reverse-grip motion.
A crisp chorus of bolts cycling followed as Class One prepared for battle.
Reverse-grip bolt racking? Who taught them that?
Adrian mocked them inwardly.
They were supposed to be regular troops, yet they were already pulling that reverse-grip nonsense.
And with all these recruits carrying AK-47s, they suddenly looked like a crew of armed thugs.
Ever since arriving in this world, Adrian had mostly seen AK-series rifles. He had never once come across an AR-pattern rifle or an M4.
Class One’s twenty-seven students planned to enter the indoor combat training facility from four directions.
The wooden walls recreated an interior environment of corridors and individual rooms.
This kind of combat environment tested teamwork and experience in close-quarters battle.
One overlooked position was all it took for someone to get behind you.
As the academy’s premier class, Class One had all received relevant training.
But they were still a level below the instructors who had come to face them.
"Begin."
At the female major’s command, Class One began clearing the rooms.
"This year’s recruits seem pretty capable."
"Yeah. Class One still has twenty-seven people left."
"Doesn’t matter how many there are. They’re still just students."
The instructors participating in this assessment were different from those used in previous years.
After the soldier selection exam, there would also be a special forces selection process. Headquarters had therefore sent special forces instructors directly.
To these special operators, the students before them were like chicks that had barely grown their feathers. At most, they could handle a rifle.
As for being combat-effective, that was practically out of the question.
Especially in the brutal confines of close-quarters combat.
"Begin."
"You heard her. Captain Frost gave the order. Get to your positions and get ready."
"Relax, Captain. They’re just kids."
The special operators pulled on masks that left only their eyes exposed.
Like the students, they carried training AK-47s. But unlike the students, these special operators had extensive combat experience. They did not work the bolts with sharp, conspicuous movements.
Instead, they eased the bolts back gently, making the chambering sound as quiet as possible.
"Hold your assigned rooms. No one is allowed to attack first. Understood?"
The gap in ability was so vast that these special operators could easily go too far during the assessment.
One man wiping out an entire class was entirely possible.
But this assessment was meant to select qualified soldiers, not special operators.
So Major Frost, who was leading the team, required them to defend only. They were not to go on the offensive.
"Don’t worry, Captain. We remember what the commander said."
The special operators dispersed and concealed themselves throughout the training facility.
Blind spots in rooms, the ends of corridors, stairwell corners.
The special operators occupied every position suited for an ambush.
The assessment area had two levels and four routes in total.
Groups as large as Class One were split into four squads and advanced upward along separate routes.
Class Six, with only seven people, needed to choose only one route.
The objective was to clear every enemy from the rooms. The trainees still standing at the end would become regular soldiers.
The nine-man squad led by Garrett, Class One’s monitor, was considered one of the academy’s best groups.
"First corner ahead. Stay alert."
They moved slowly, their muzzles pointed forward at all times.
Keeping close to the wall, Garrett popped his head out for an instant, then immediately pulled it back.
"Contact at the end of the corridor."
The corner they had reached turned at a right angle.
Down the corridor beyond it, a special operator playing the enemy had already shouldered his AK and aimed at the corner.
"I’ll stick my rifle out first and draw his fire. Ryder, the moment my gun starts firing, roll out and lay down suppression."
This world’s CQB doctrine was severely underdeveloped, since most tactics had been designed to deal with NPCs.
In a Battlefield Instance, a situation like this usually meant stepping out and trading shots with the NPC.
But this was an assessment against soldiers. Garrett did not dare let his guard down.
Garrett readied himself and switched his AK to full-auto.
He extended the muzzle around the corner while keeping his body behind the wall.
Rat-tat-tat!
Garrett opened fire. The moment he did, Ryder rolled out, aimed at the special operator in the distance, and fired.
Tat! Tat! Tat!
A burst of controlled fire rang out.
Ryder’s wristwatch emitted a shrill alarm.
At the same time, the same alarm sounded from the instructor at the end of the corridor.
"A very clever tactic. Shame his shooting is lousy."
Major Frost, standing on the distant observation platform, offered her assessment.
She was not only the examiner for this assessment, but also the captain of the special operators below.
"Ryder was brave as well. But his opponent was special forces. That result is perfectly understandable."
The principal stepped in with praise.
This assessment was not solely about whether they passed the selection.
Anyone judged to possess the qualities required of a soldier could still qualify.
The other teams performed much the same. As the academy’s top class, Class One’s combat aptitude spoke for itself.
In the end, twenty-two students from Class One qualified. Only five were eliminated.
The Classes Two, Three, and Four that followed did not perform well.
Only five or six students from each of those classes passed the test.
Class Five had it worst. Of the entire class of twenty-one, not a single student passed.
At the first corner, they had tried the same tactic Class One had used.
But the student who dropped down and rolled out to fire rolled too far.
He did not stop until he slammed into the wall on the other side.
As a result, Class Five did not even make it past the first corner. The entire class was eliminated.
"Class Six, prepare yourselves."
The major called out.
"Our turn?"
Adrian muttered to himself.
The seven of them put on their gear and walked to the training facility entrance.
Adrian did not have much of an emotional connection to these classmates.
Having arrived here from another world, all he knew was that he had been an average student in the class.
These classmates were little more than casual friends.
"You have the best grades, so you take point. We’ll use the same tactics Class One did."
The class’s academic representative spoke to the class monitor.
"All right. Back me up. Class Five got wiped out completely. Even if we all fail, we won’t look nearly as bad."
The class monitor took a deep breath.
"Begin."
The seven students raised their rifles, formed a search formation, and began clearing the training facility.
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