In the vastness of space, the Gundam AGE-2 was barely holding its ground against the Flag Gundam's relentless, storm-like assault. Its wings were broken, flames flickered from the severed right leg, and the Sword-Gun Composite Weapons, now reduced to mere hilts, had been discarded. Only the faint glow of the Beam Sabers remained.
"Hah... Hah... So this... this is Uncle Graham's true strength... But I can't lose either!"
With a roar, Asemu was about to stomp the pedal to the floor, charging forward to fight the Flag Gundam to the death, but Yang Hui stopped him in time.
"That's enough!"
"Huh?"
"Return to base."
"But..." Asemu was still in a daze. Wasn't Graham trying to kill him just moments ago? He had already prepared himself for a life-or-death struggle, but now... it was over?
Confused, Asemu watched as the Flag Gundam headed towards the Big Ring base and could only follow silently. Now that he had completely calmed down, he began to ponder the purpose of all this.
"Uncle Yang Hui... Uncle Graham... They couldn't have wanted to kill me... So... were they just letting me vent? Or... was this some kind of special training?"
Asemu finally grasped the key point and tightened his grip on the control sticks.
"So that's it... But was it necessary to be so ruthless?" He glanced at the monitor and winced. "What a crushing defeat..."
...
As the two mobile suits returned to the Hangar and the cockpit hatches opened, Graham and Asemu were immediately met with the complaints of the maintenance crew.
"This is way too much."
"I understand that the Major General was holding back, but he shouldn't have treated the machine like this. We don't have many spare floating swords in stock."
"Where's the sack? Hurry and get the sack! How many times have we said this? Why does the Major General keep kicking people!? The joint frame is deformed again!"
"You guys have it easy. Look at ours—the right leg and wings need a complete replacement, the main weapons on both arms are gone, other joints are showing wear, and the outer armor needs to be replaced too. Sigh..."
"Major General, if you're going to hold back, then do it more thoroughly!"
"We're going to have to work overtime again."
"If it weren't for the bonus the Lieutenant General promised, I'd go on strike!"
"Please get a sack ready for us too..."
...
"Uh..." Graham and Asemu felt a chill run down their spines and instinctively retracted their feet before they could step out, quickly closing the cockpit hatches. They were genuinely afraid of being surrounded and beaten the moment they stepped out.
"Go bother Yang Hui if you want to complain! He's the one who told me to do this!"
"It's not my fault, it was all Uncle Graham's doing. Go bother him instead."
One had to admit, the uncle and nephew were quite skilled at shifting blame.
But what Asemu was more concerned about was what the maintenance crew had said—that Graham had been holding back!
"So Uncle was going easy on me... That makes sense. With his strength, I wouldn't have lasted this long otherwise..."
Beep~ Creak...
At that moment, the cockpit hatch of the Gundam AGE-2 was suddenly opened from the outside. Asemu shivered and immediately blurted out, "It wasn't me! It was all the Major General's doing! Don't blame me!"
"Well, well, Asemu. You haven't learned much in terms of real skills, but you're quite good at shifting blame."
"Huh?"
Asemu looked up and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was Yang Hui.
"Whew... You scared me, Uncle Yang Hui... Ow!"
Yang Hui didn't bother with Asemu's complaints. The Iron Palm of Love struck again, firmly gripping the top of Asemu's head.
"Why are you hiding in the cockpit instead of getting out and reviewing the battle? Do you think your performance was impressive? Do you think we have all the time in the world? Huh?"
"No, no, no... Uncle, let go! I'm going to die! I'm going to die! Aunt Yurin, save me!"
"Don't worry, no one can save you this time!"
"I'm going to die! I'm really going to die! Ah~!"
Just as Asemu felt his deceased grandmother reaching out to him, the grip on his head was released, and his grandmother waved goodbye.
"Hah... I survived..."
"If you know you're alive, then hurry up and get down here!"
"Yes, sir!"
Asemu didn't dare to delay and quickly left the cockpit, following Yang Hui to the second command room. However, as they passed the maintenance crew, the murderous glares directed at him made him shiver.
Graham had also disembarked from the Flag Gundam. Though the maintenance crew for the Baize had the same look in their eyes as the Gundam AGE-2's crew, who was Graham?
As an enthusiast of MS extreme sports, he had long since learned to remain calm under such gazes. As long as he wasn't immediately surrounded and was careful while walking, he was quite safe.
"Take care of it. I need it restored to perfect condition in the shortest time possible. We'll need it again later. If you run out of spare parts, go find Flit."
"Huh? We're doing this again?" The maintenance crew looked as if they had just lost their parents. This workload wasn't a one-time thing—it was going to kill them! Even a workhorse couldn't be pushed this hard! They wanted to protest! They wanted to go on strike! They...
"After this, everyone's bonus will be ten times the usual amount."
"We'll get it done!"
Heh, you rookies, still thinking about protesting and striking? Don't you know how the "true fragrance law" works?
...
Asemu obediently followed Yang Hui and Graham to the second command room. Along the way, he had many questions he wanted to ask but didn't dare to speak up, not even daring to breathe too loudly. He wasn't sure if Yang Hui was still angry, and he certainly didn't want to meet his deceased grandmother in the same way again.
Only when he saw Yurin smiling and nodding at him did Asemu finally relax. With Yurin present, he wouldn't die on the spot.
"Pull up the data comparison."
"Yes, sir!"
"Asemu, look."
Asemu followed Yang Hui's direction and looked at the large screen, immediately startled.
"This... is me?"
The fluctuating data curve, especially its peaks, was something Asemu found hard to believe.
"That's right. This is your performance data from just now."
"Was I really this good?" Asemu muttered to himself. Though it was his own data, he had secretly peeked at others' data during special training sessions. Frankly speaking, this data could easily surpass most Federation pilots.
"You did well..."
Hearing this, Asemu felt a surge of joy, thinking Yang Hui would praise him. But the next moment, reality reminded him that expectations were just that—expectations.
"...Did you think I'd say that? Look at what you were doing at the start!"
While scolding him, Yang Hui pulled up the Gundam AGE-2's battle records. The Gundam AGE-2 had hesitated, remaining frozen in place even after receiving orders.
"Following orders is a soldier's duty. You're just a rookie; you have no right to question your superiors' orders. You should know what consequences hesitation on the battlefield can bring."
Asemu remained silent. Though he knew Yang Hui was right, he still felt a bit indignant. Even if it was an order, without any explanation beforehand, just blindly following orders—wasn't that what you'd call mediocrity?
"And one more thing!"
"Ugh..." Asemu flinched, closing his eyes and shrinking his neck as Yang Hui raised his voice, fearing another outburst.
"...You did well later on. Though most of it was reckless actions born of extreme anger, abandoning overthinking and letting your body act on instinct and intuition did bring some threat."
"Huh?" Asemu's eyes shot open. The expected scolding didn't come; instead, it was recognition and praise. The sudden reversal left Asemu unsure whether to laugh or cry.
"What is the essence of the X-Rounder ability?" Yang Hui asked Asemu.
"Uh... The X-Rounder is a long-dormant beast-like combat instinct awakened through constant warfare, allowing one to keenly sense danger and respond swiftly!"
"Exactly. Rather than evolution, it's more like regression—bringing humans back to their beast-like state. Is this a necessary power for humanity?"
"But... without the X-Rounder ability... Jehart..."
"So you think the enemy's strength lies solely in the X-Rounder?"
"Isn't that the case?" Asemu asked, his voice trembling.
"I'm not an X-Rounder," Graham leaned against the wall, a smile on his face.
"Huh? Uncle Graham, you're not?" Asemu was shocked.
"Of course not. Neither is Yang Hui. Only Yurin is an X-Rounder."
"But..."
"So you're just making excuses for your failure. The X-Rounder doesn't define a strong person; at most, it gives ordinary people a chance to catch up to the strong."
"But Father..."
"So what if your dad is an X-Rounder? Doesn't he still get beaten by us?" Graham said jokingly. Though there was some exaggeration, in terms of MS piloting, Flit had never once beaten Yang Hui or Graham.
"Uh..." Asemu's mouth twitched. In his mind, his father was always composed and serious, but with just one sentence, that image was almost shattered.
"Then... Uncle, Aunt, can I really become stronger? Stronger than Jehart..."
"Of course you can!" Woolf slung an arm around Asemu's shoulder. "I'm not an X-Rounder either. Though I can't compare to monsters like Yang Hui and Graham, I'm still a super pilot!"
"Super pilot?"
"Exactly! So what if you're not an X-Rounder? True strength always comes from here." Woolf raised his thumb and pointed to his chest.
"That's right, Asemu. There are many paths to becoming strong. The X-Rounder ability isn't as essential as you think. Hard training, never giving up, and bravely facing strong opponents—that's the true path to becoming strong." Yang Hui patted Asemu's head. "No one is born strong. Some may have unique opportunities, but that only gives them a head start. The finish line is still unknown. What truly matters is whether you have the determination to surpass others during the chase."
"..." Yang Hui's words struck Asemu like a thunderbolt.
That's right. No one is born strong. Though he didn't know the details, from what he had heard from Yang Hui and Woolf, even his seemingly untouchable father had grown step by step. Wasn't he once an impulsive, hot-headed kid too? And what about me?
My starting point is already higher than Father's was back then. Why don't I think about surpassing him through hard work instead of relying on shortcuts like the X-Rounder ability?
"Lieutenant General... no, Uncle! I want to continue training. Please!" Asemu requested, not as a subordinate, but as a nephew.
"Good. First, we'll review the battle. Once your machines are repaired, we'll continue." Yang Hui agreed.
If Asemu had made the request as a subordinate, Yang Hui would have still agreed, but all responsibility would fall on Asemu. But as a nephew... even if the sky fell, Yang Hui would shoulder it for him.
Authors note:
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