'Is that like a personal attack or sothing?'
Eren snorted his nose as he watched Hansen talk about the mbers of the Bare Minimum Gang.
As much as he felt uncomfortable about hearing it, he had to say that Hansen's point of view about rankers was quite on the mark. However, the butcher could relate to this group of rankers more closely than soone like Hansen. After all, he was one of these rankers himself in his past tiline.
Hansen focused mainly on the outco of passing the academy by eting the bare minimum requirents instead of addressing the underlying causes. And in doing that, Hansen sounded like an elite to Eren who considered himself to be nothing special among the group of special individuals all around him.
There was so part of Eren that felt like he should defend the bare minimum gang mbers. It wanted to list out the problems and injustices they faced both inside and outside the academy. It ended up that they beca monkeys in the middle who neither received welfare nor a chance to rise above their circumstances. A middle class of monkeys that could only watch as the ga got passed from one end to another.
What's more? Such rankers were even more miserable than the dropouts from the four academies. Because at least the drop-outs could make peace with their lowly existences in the rankers' society.
However, Eren's revised tiline made him see the error of his ways. He felt that the things his past self would have cited to defend the bare minimum gang in this situation were simply excuses for him. No matter how valid the excuse may seem, in the end, it was bound to sound and work like an excuse.
Hansen knew what potential quitters were thinking. And he couldn't bla them.
He was surprised to see that more students from the four academies were not thinking about quitting. But he did not want to degrade the level of competition by encouraging the weak-minded to participate. So he decided to scare them even further.
'When I say that you might experience death, I do not an that you will have to kill each other for real to obtain the Sage legacies. There's a difference between the experience of death and real death after all.
The kingdom of Edinburgh doesn't want its young rankers dying at each other's hands even if there are four Sage legacies at the stake. At least not at this ti.
We will try to make sure you co back alive, irrespective of the physical and ntal condition you will be in at the end of the event. However, nobody's safety is guaranteed in the Sansara array.
There are cases of rankers dying with perfectly healthy bodies and unhard souls after they experienced the Sansara array. They start believing in their death so much that they refuse to co back to life.
One could say that the Sansara Sage's drive to seek perfection in his work is both a boon and a curse for the young rankers."
Hansen said and sighed. He put his hands behind his back and started pacing along the lateral length of the platform before speaking up.
"It takes courage to admit one's limitations. And quitting before the start line is a much better choice than trying things half-assedly.
Decide to stay in the event... and you won't be able to quit until it's over. Now it's your turn to choose. Which way will it be?"
Hansen posed a question to the crowd and allowed the participants so ti to think. After about a minute or two, he spoke again in a more commanding tone.
"Those who wish to quit take a step back from their positions. And those who want to participate in the event step forward."
The majority of the rankers stepped up without a mont's delay. So hesitated but decided to step forward nonetheless. It was only a handful of rankers who felt that the "experience of death" was more than they had expected.
Everyone in the White Raven crew stepped forward right away as well. Everyone except Ana. She was hesitant to participate in the event. She felt like she wasn't ready to face a life-altering event like this.
Ana's on-field assignnt was further away from conflicts and battles than the rest of the rankers. As a healer, she had progressed a lot. However, her mind wasn't quite ready to accept the brutality that would unfold as the event progressed.
Becky wanted everyone to accept Ana's wish to stay out of the event. The mage was about to say sothing in support of Ana but Steve didn't let her speak.
'Ana… you know what giving up feels like. Do you want to find out what happens if you don't?'
Eren on the other hand felt irritated by his team's healer. With no inhibitions, he spoke in a grim voice.
'Lass… I don't care about giving up or not giving up. I don't care about your sanity post event either. So of us are already broken inside and we'd like to see more of you guys join us.
For your own sake as well as mine, you better step forward. Do you have any idea how much effort and resources I have put into your growth? How are you going to repay for that? I'll turn you into a hooker if you don't step forward before I count to three.'
Ana froze in her steps when she listened to the butcher's warnings. The butcher didn't even look at her before continuing. 'One!'
Ana hurriedly took a step forward when she heard Eren's blatant countdown. The other mbers of her group laughed it off. But for so reason, she believed the butcher's threats. She looked at him angrily before speaking up.
Eren… Even though I have talismans to heal even the C-rank entities… I'll not heal you at all during this whole event.'
Ana thought of scaring Eren a bit. The latter was only amused by her way of rebelling against him.
The butcher chuckled before retorting.
'I don't need a healer for myself anyway. Suit yourself.'
The butcher's claim made Ana speechless and other White Raven crew mbers looked at him in surprise. The healer narrowed her eyes on the butcher and decided to test his bold claims.
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