Kuklo heard the cries celebrating the Survey Corps’ return from inside the walls.
✦ ✦ ✦
Xenophon Harkimo soaked in satisfaction on the training academy’s athletic grounds. Four giant machines resembling swings had been installed on one side, and he’d just finished making final adjustments. While it looked like playground equipment at first sight, the apparatus had been manufactured for Vertical Maneuvering Equipment training purposes as per Jorge’s request. In truth, it may have been too low-tech to be called an “apparatus,” as it neither used special materials in its construction nor possessed any newfangled features. Built with three support pillars each, it resembled a towering tripod. Two bungee cables stretched from the top of the pillars, and users could simply strap one to each side of their hips in place of the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment. After that, they’d have to rely on their senses to maintain their posture mid-air.
In other words, these machines were made to cultivate a sense of balance, without which wielding the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment was a pipe dream.
“It took me a bit of time, but…they look good,” Xenophon sang his own praises, nodding over and over with satisfaction.
Since the machines were of simple construction, they’d taken no more than three hours to set up. Xenophon had only supervised, leaving the actual work to his subordinates, but they finished before noon, more or less on target.
He might have made a more groundbreaking machine… Comparing himself to Angel was a bad habit of Xenophon’s that he couldn’t kick. Well, no point in asking for what you can’t get.
Grimacing and scratching his scraggly hair, he complained, “They’re late, though. It’d be nice if they decided to show up soon.” Looking around the grounds he saw greenhorns doing sprints, but Xenophon wasn’t waiting for any run-of-the-mill recruits. He awaited the elite selected by Jorge. The others were no more than part of the scenery, extras who wouldn’t be missed.
He’s probably whipping away at a horse right about now. The gang for whom Xenophon was impatient still hadn’t returned from their excursion. If all had gone according to plan, the viewing of the expedition was over and they were heading back to the academy. They’d be arriving before he became downright irritated.
Just as he thought this, a carriage approached with Jorge in the driver’s seat. Xenophon called out, “You kept me waiting for quite a while. I was about to take a nap out of boredom.”
“I think we’re exactly on time, are we not?”
Jorge’s dubious look forced Xenophon to notice. “I must have finished a little too early…”
“Are you fishing for praise?”
“Perish the thought,” Xenophon shooed, but he did feel fairly satisfied. “Anyway, here are your machines.”
When he introduced the freshly completed machine to Jorge and his students, they all looked at it blankly, confused as to how it worked, but Xenophon had expected this reaction.
“It would be fastest if you just used it. You, my spare. Try it out.” The workshop chief grabbed Cardina, who’d just exited the wagon, and guided him to the machine.
“Um… What exactly is this shifty contraption?!”
“It turned out wonderful, didn’t it? Save the praise for later, though.”
“Hold on, I’m asking you how to use this thing…”
Cardina looked bewildered, but his words went in Xenophon’s right ear and straight out the left. What was important was getting the fellow to use the machine, not anything he had to say.
“This thing has been tested, right?”
“It’s flawless. At least, it worked without a hitch in my mind.” True, none of the experiments using his subordinates had met with success, and a few were in a hospital now. Regardless, Xenophon deemed it to be working as intended. The only problem was the difference in athletic ability between military recruits and craftsmen. Most importantly, it functioned perfectly in his mind, so any problems rested with the users. Probably.
Upon hearing this, Cardina’s face filled with the gloom of a condemned man standing on the gallows. Before he could resist, he was hooked up to the machine and pulled up in the air. All that supported him now were the cables attached to his hips and the hands of one of Xenophon’s men. Cardina’s feet were fully thirty centimeters off the ground. Though the craftsman supported his body for the time being, if he let go, Cardina would have to rely on his sense of balance alone.
“I’m very unstable up here…”
“Just like using the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, isn’t it? If you can control your posture on this, then some day you’ll be able to master the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment! Or maybe not! It might at least trigger a breakthrough.”
“Okay.”
Having persuaded Cardina, Xenophon locked eyes with his subordinate. The craftsman nodded and let go.
“Gwuh?!” Cardina let out a wild cry as he lost his balance. He flipped upside down and hung in mid-air.
“If you had been using the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, you’d have fallen and hurt yourself just now.”
“I guess you could call that a silver lining…” Cardina half-laughed, half-spat, suspended.
“I want to try it out,” Kuklo volunteered.
With no reason to say no, Xenophon quickly instructed his men to hook him up to a machine. “I’d love to see you master this,” he said to Kuklo, who was now connected to the practice apparatus. The words were honest ones. Someone had to master the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment to prove its utility to the upper echelons of the military. Having an epochal invention consigned to the warehouse would shame Xenophon as a craftsman.
The subordinate let go. Unlike Cardina, Kuklo held his posture without falling over. His sense of balance must have been better. Still, it was clear to everyone that deprived of the stability of standing on his feet, Kuklo was making use of all the muscles in his body to maintain his posture.
I see it’s placing too much of a strain on the body. Trying to tame the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment by force could end in torn muscles or dislocated joints, even broken bones─mid-air at that. The fate awaiting such an operator was as clear as day. Posture control needed to become as natural as breathing.
“Maintaining your posture on your first try? Impressive.” Though not totally satisfied by the performance, Xenophon clapped and praised Kuklo. If one person got the knack and learned to handle the machine, others might use him as a model, raising the floor for all. The same logic held for the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, and Kuklo was the most likely model.
While I do feel sorry about his background, I can’t help but be grateful to it right now. It was true that Kuklo’s abilities were outstanding, but he wasn’t superhuman. He didn’t possess powers beyond the ken of mere mortals unlike the Titans. Rather, harsh conditions had brought out his potential, and a comparable aptitude surely slumbered in the others. If Kuklo could learn to master the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, anyone could with enough effort.
Whatever the case, I’m going to need him to work hard. Briskly walking up to Kuklo, Xenophon said, “I forgot I had a message for you from the young lady.”
“From Sharle?” Kuklo’s body twitched and shook as he tried to maintain his posture.
“She says, ‘Please don’t do anything too crazy, okay?’” Xenophon said, imitating Sharle’s tone, then kicked one of the pillars hard.
The slight vibration this caused rippled out to the entire machine, affecting Kuklo, who struggled to use his entire body to keep his posture intact. He pawed at the air as if he were paddling water in a desperate attempt to stabilize himself, but regaining his balance after losing it was not an easy task. He began to fall over, face-up.
“Agh!”
Despite his cry he kept trying, but his exceptional physical abilities now worked against him. As if hoping to land like a cat, he twisted his body reflexively. While this would have narrowly saved him in actual combat, his body was connected to bungee cords. Flipping over in an awkward position, he slammed his head against the ground and passed out.
“Didn’t I just pass on Sharle’s message not to do anything crazy? You’re going to make her sad, you know.” Xenophon shrugged and sighed, ignoring his own culpability.
It seemed as though a bit of time would be needed before the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment could be mastered.