"...ugh...! I... I ended up using too much strength..."
Recruit 93-F sniffled and cried.
"Things like that happens during training - that's why we are training, to learn to control the strength we gain."
Bruiser 97-F explained.
"...uuuuu....! ...uuuugh...!"
The girl was crying more and more.
"..."
Mika gulped down her saliva, sticking to the tree she was hiding behind - the situation was rather awkward - there was no chance for her to either reveal herself or back off without getting noticed...!
So the ashen-haired just stayed in her hiding spot, trying not to eavesdrop on the conversation.
"Stop trying to hide it. Stand up."
The bruiser 97-F asked suddenly.
"...uuu... sir, y-yes sir..."
The girl cried but complied.
"Is that mess-up during training the reason for how you've ended up like that? Did your instructor not sent for one of the medics?"
"...?"
The change of tone in bruiser 97-F's voice caused even Mika to get curious.
...what was ending up 'like that' meant...?
So she peeked over and...
"...hurgh...!"
When she saw 'that', Mika hurriedly covered her mouth with both hands, not only to stop herself from screaming but to hold back the bile rising up from her stomach.
"N-no... sir... during the training I... uuu... I only blew up the training dummy... ugh...!"
Recruit 93-F cried and shook her head.
"I... I got like this... be-because the instructor have left me with the special training dummy... uuu... that, that was meant to withstand over a thousand normal hits, and... and... uuug...! and told me to break it... but... but I wanted to quickly join my squad because... uuu... because every member need to be present to receive the bonus ration... uuugh... so I thought it would be a good idea to just use my full strength and... ended up like that..."
She explained.
'That' referred to her right arm being torn to shreds.
Forget about the armor, all of the skin was completely gone and most of the muscles and tendons were ripped apart and barely connected to bones that also looked severely damaged.
Recruit 93-F's right hand was missing all fingers and half of the thumb.
Surprisingly enough, there was a lot less blood than one would expect from a terrible wound like that.
How come the young girl was only crying and not writhing in agony was beyond the nauseous Mika's comprehension.
"Why didn't you go to the medic?"
Brusier 97-F asked in a tone of voice that was more suited for talking about the weather and certainly out of place when talking to the gravely injured kid.
"..."
Recruit 93-F gritted her teeth and looked away.
"You do know that the longer you will delay getting it healed, the more chance there is for your hand ending up completely disabled, right?"
"...!"
"...!"
Both the recruit 93-F and Mika behind the tree flinched and trembled.
"...but if I'll go like that, they will get angry at me... and will punish the whole squad... uuuu... I don't want everyone to hate me even more...!"
The girl shook her head while crying pitifully.
"They won't. Accidents can happen to everyone. You are the only other 90 besides me who survived, right? You need to report every detail about the side effects you're experiencing to the medics so that the future recruits won't have to go through the same pain."
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Bruiser 97-F spoke gently.
"It's not your fault that you can't control your strength yet, it's most likely because the Acedia skill you received is a bit too strong. The medics won't be angry at you and they will certainly protect you and your squad from getting any unjust punishment."
He added with a warm smile.
"...you promise...?"
Recruit 93-F sniffled once more and asked in a defenseless voice, she even forgot about the proper way to address the older, fully-fledged Sloth soldier - but Bruiser 97-F didn't seem to mind at all.
"Yes. At least that's how it was with me."
He nodded, taking off his right glove.
"...!"
Mika, taken over by the curiosity, leaned over and peeked at him and got surprised by the sight of a hand which skin consisted of just scars upon scars upon more scars.
"Now go to the medics already."
Bruiser 97-F shooed the crying girl away, and this time she listened and hurried back towards the buildings.
But was it alright to let her go alone?
Maybe someone should go with her, just in case if she fainted along the way or something?
...were Mika's thoughts as she stepped out of her hiding spot behind the tree.
"Huh? And who might you be...?"
And of course, she was instantly spotted by the surprised bruiser 97-F.
"...!"
Mika flinched and tried to step back behind her cover, although she realized at once that it would be futile - what we're the chance that once she did that, the boy would just forget about her?
"Are you perhaps one of recruit 93-F squadmates? We're you worried about her?"
Bruiser 97-F asked hopefully, making the ashen-haired girl feel even more guilty than she already was.
"N-no, sorry. It's just me..."
She hurriedly apologized and removed her helmet.
"Miss Mika?!"
Instead of being disappointed, the boy blushed and gasped enthusiastically.
"What are you doing here? No, wait, I don't mean it like you can't be here - because it's completely okay for you to be here! But, I didn't expect to meet you here at this time! That's all!"
Bruiser 97-F started talking haphazardly, blushing even harder.
"That girl..."
Mika asked nervously, looking towards the direction where the young recruit left and realized that the girl was already gone.
"Ah! So you've seen that... There's no need to worry, we 90-F types are strong, unless our heads are blown off we can even survive without a heart for a good few minutes! In comparison, the arm is nothing serious."
The boy fidgeted and waved his hand dismissively, getting a bit shy.
"Anyway, what brings you here? Did you wanted a change of pace?"
He asked curiously.
"...ah...! Well, yes, actually."
Mika flinched and turned back to bruiser 97-F.
She had no reason to doubt his words about the toughness of his own comrades, so she switched back to her original objective.
"I've really wanted to work out a bit, you know, train. I thought that maybe it'll be okay for me to join the recruits training session..."
Mika swayed from side to side and glanced innocently at the buzzcut boy.
"Ah. Sorry, joining the recruits is absolutely out of the question."
But bruiser 97-F shot her down without a moment of hesitation.