Nikke, something’s seriously wrong with this evacuation point! Chapter 73 73: But I Refuse

"What did you just say?"

Rose's expression froze. No matter how she thought about it, she could never have expected this situation.

A normal human… wanted to learn swordsmanship?

And from a Nikke, no less?

"I refuse."

Before Rose could even figure out how to respond, Scarlet had already answered coldly.

"I don't know what kind of thoughts brought you to seek swordsmanship, but if it's just so shallow fascination, or an attempt to gain attention, then it's aningless."

Even though Rose kept trying to signal her sister with her eyes, Scarlet showed no intention of backing down.

"With your condition, you'd be better off properly learning firearms. It would be far more efficient."

That was already the polite version.

Firearms were weapons capable of quickly closing the gap in combat ability. Shooting required training too, but compared to lee weapons, guns were vastly easier to learn.

Scarlet glanced once more at Charon's hands.

Smooth hands. No calluses. Hands softened by comfort.

She shook her head.

"Sorry. If you truly want to learn, find soone else. My sword is not suited for you."

"Um… I apologize, Scarlet is just very straightforward. She doesn't an any offense."

Rose hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over, still speaking with that sa gentle tone.

"But if you're truly interested… perhaps you could first observe our training?"

From Charon's perspective, however, Rose's polite attitude was the real rejection.

What she actually ant was simple:

Once you see our training, you'll probably give up on learning the sword.

Nikke bodies were naturally far stronger than humans. Their thods of training were sothing ordinary people could barely endure.

Besides, their exhaustion was mostly ntal. Since this unit consisted entirely of enhanced mass-produced Nikkes, as long as the core and brain survived, even destroying the body wasn't considered serious damage.

Humans simply couldn't keep up with them.

"It's alright. I understand."

Faced with Rose's warm yet distant attitude, Charon only felt a little regret.

Still, if Scarlet refused, he had other thods.

After the battle against the Conductor, he had realized he absolutely needed to improve his close-combat capabilities.

Firearms for long range.

lee for instant kills.

He needed both if he wanted to protect the people around him.

"Tomorrow's deploynt is already here, and you're still training today?" Charon casually changed the topic.

"Mm… if you truly want Scarlet to teach you swordsmanship, you shouldn't let her hear that."

Rose smiled gently and raised a finger.

"Because the sword… is our life."

...

His first contact with the lee unit Nikkes had ended.

Charon had always believed in adapting wherever he went. Since he had beco part of this squad, he intended to build good relationships with them.

As for that fat commander… dealing with him was much easier than dealing with the Nikkes.

The rest of the squad was simple enough too. Most of them lacked any particular ambitions. They possessed all the traits of mass-produced Nikkes–calling them office workers in military uniforms wouldn't even feel wrong.

Killing Raptures was just work.

Outside of that, they were ordinary people.

Girls like that were easy for Charon to get along with.

The real issue was Rose and Scarlet.

Despite Rose's approachable deanor, Charon quickly realized she was probably the most difficult one to deal with.

Compared to her, Scarlet was actually much simpler.

Not easier–but simpler.

With Scarlet, at least there was a clear direction.

If he truly wanted to get close to her, he'd probably have to suffer for it.

But Charon didn't mind.

He was greedy.

In his eyes, once soone beca his companion, he would do everything possible to keep them alive.

Consider it paynt for escorting him to Rose's grave.

He stopped overthinking it.

als were eaten one bite at a ti.

Roads were walked step by step.

He'd start with the younger girls first.

...

3 PM.

Scarlet entered the training grounds, preparing for another sparring session with her older sister.

As for that overconfident human from earlier, he was probably hanging around Lieutenant Barnes now.

Whatever. She didn't care.

But when she reached the familiar corner and began maintaining her beloved sword before training, she noticed her sister staring toward another section of the field with a complicated expression.

"Sister, why haven't you prepared yet?" Scarlet asked casually, flourishing her blade before resting it behind her back.

"This ti I shall wash away my previous defeat. Co, fight ."

"My, my, Scarlet, don't be so impatient."

Rose blinked playfully.

"After thinking about it, I realized that man may actually have a point. Since we deploy tomorrow, perhaps resting for the remainder of the day would be more effective."

The smile she showed Scarlet was warm like spring sunlight–completely different from the slightly stiff politeness she had shown Charon.

"Watching everyone else train might help you too."

"What are you–"

Scarlet narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but instinctively followed her sister's gaze toward the opposite side of the training field.

And there–

She saw sothing unbelievable.

Beside one of the lee Nikkes, Charon was swinging a heavy iron sword in perfect synchronization with the Nikke beside him.

An iron sword.

Not a wooden training sword.

Nikkes could handle that kind of weight easily–but he was human.

And yet he was actually keeping up with a Nikke's movents?

The lee unit specialized in crushing the armor of Raptures, so naturally their weapons had to be large and heavy.

But a human?

Seriously?

Under the gaze of the squad's two aces, Charon continued adapting himself to the weight of the blade.

The reason he could even lift the sword was actually very simple:

He had equipped it.

Ga chanics, kid.

That didn't an he could wield it effortlessly, though.

The system only guaranteed that he could hold it.

Every swing still consud real stamina. The larger and heavier the weapon, the fewer tis he could swing it.

But as long as he could equip it, he could use it at least once–even if it left him collapsing from exhaustion the next second.

There was another important factor:

His stamina regenerated absurdly quickly.

As long as he paused briefly to rest, it would refill completely.

Sa as before, ga chanics.

His stamina wasn't infinite.

But in terms of recovery speed?

Nobody could compare.

Charon inwardly sighed in admiration.

As expected of a close-combat specialized unit. Coming here had absolutely been the right choice.

No matter how much he trained, he would never beco like Liliweiss, capable of splitting the heavens apart with raw power alone.

But swordsmanship–

That was a genuine advantage in close combat.

A major one.

Right now, he was testing the limits of his stamina-recovery chanic, trying to determine the exact rhythm where stamina recovery equaled stamina consumption–

A pace that would allow him to attack continuously without stopping.