The lecture went on for another few hours, after which we left the forest and began something called special training. It was led by Sister.
“In this training, you will learn about the body’s structure, vital points, and weaknesses, with the intention that you will put this knowledge to use in your combat and long-distance classes.”
Behind her was a dead body. “We are lucky enough to have a specimen the same size and age as yourselves to dissect.”
Some of the kids clapped their hands to their mouths. They recognized the body lying on the table. Now that I thought about it, it really didn’t make sense. There was no way that Konji would have missed the wolf’s approach. I thought he might have overlooked it to punish the children for letting their guards down, but that didn’t seem to be the case. It was clear, both from the routine punishment and this latest incident, that he wasn’t overly concerned with keeping us alive. I had the sense that he valued life even less than Sister, who had almost pulled a knife on me.
“Before we begin, please make sure you keep your essence charged. Dead bodies give off miasma. Touch them, and you’ll begin to rot. Worst case, you end up with necrosis. This one should be fine, since it’s freshly dead, but if you come into contact with any bodies going forward, charge your essence or keep small amounts of it released.”
Here was yet more knowledge that contradicted what I knew from my previous life. From the gravity of Sister’s tone, it sounded like this miasma phenomenon differed from the simple concept of corpses being unhygienic. I charged up my essence a little more than I otherwise might have and took a step toward the body.
The first thing Sister did was peel away the skin, revealing muscle and white sinew. “These are the muscles that grant people movement. These white ‘fibers’ are tendons. They transfer power between muscles. See what happens when I pull the tendon that runs through the wrist? The fingers move. Human motion can be described as a driving force supported by bones, muscles, and tendons.
“In dogborns, the ear canal bends partway like so, and from there it connects to the middle ear. However, they have the same inner ears as manborns. Here, we have the semicircular canal. Shaking someone’s head can throw off their sense of balance.”
Sister went on. “There are several parts of the human body that arteries run through. Neck, thighs, heart. The heart is protected by the ribs, so you’re better off going for the side of the neck or the inner thigh. The neck is easier, because you can target it from the outside. Take a look.”
She sank her surgical knife into the corpse like it was nothing. Ignoring how grotesque the sight before us was, her lesson was thorough and incredibly easy to follow. It was valuable too—we were learning how our own bodies functioned and how to break those belonging to others. I might have felt differently if I held any attachment to the dogborn girl lying on the table. The children who had shared her room seemed to convulse every time Sister started a new sentence, which I doubted did anything for their focus.
Eventually, her lesson on dissection came to a close. No one seemed to have much of an appetite at dinner that evening. In the following days, the number making use of the prayer room increased.
CHAPTER 2: EVERYTHING NOURISHES