Waking up on the library table my head was throbbing as I sat up, thinking back to the night before in order to handle the emotions I felt I dived into the books all over again. Glancing at the towering clock attached to the upper wall near the reception I sat up startled.
“Shit, it’s already 8:30am.” Getting up I grabbed the book I had at my side and bolted to the dorms. Once there I shoved my book into the trunk at the end of my bed. Before then rushing out of the dorm building that was already quiet I had only a few minutes to get to morning training. The silence of the dorms reminded me of how late I was to combat training.
Getting to the training halls kept at the west side I felt my heart pounding as I ran into the changing rooms. Swapping out of my uniform into training gear I felt grateful our Academy was not one of those absurd ones that insisted on keeping a uniform for combat training. Seriously, trousers and shirts in sword training are insane. Walking amidst the other boys standing at attention I fitted in amongst the backline of the group. Looking towards the front I could see the trainer.
Standing at nearly two hundred centimetres was a rather lean individual but by the leather armour he wore which exposed his upper arms you could see the muscles that coiled around his arms were like steel cables running under his skin. Messy brown hair cut short and a stubble beard. As well as what looked to be a longsword at his hip the glare he gave looking across the entire class was quite oppressive.
“Listen here, you may have already had this discussion with the magic practical should you have gone through them. But we will be separating groups between those who have had at least three years of formalised training and those who have not. Afterwards there will be a physical fitness test to see if everyone is at least up to speed. Remember I will be addressed as Instructor Anton and my two assistants are Instructors Blake and Talia. Blake will handle students that have had formal training and Talia will handle those without. Now get to groups.”
Looking at the two groups I naturally headed towards Instructor Blake, a burly blonde haired man with verdant eyes and a grin to his face. A rather sharp contrast to Talia who was closer to our height than the other two instructors and had black hair along with brown eyes. Common more around the eastern regions near my family territories so I glanced away hopefully not being recognized by her.
The Alphonse family followed a rather strict conscription service for the common folk that began at sixteen although its training was regarded as the best for common soldiers it also meant being kept on the frontline for at least seven years. Even if she pursued training at the Academy I would rather not risk meeting someone with a grudge for a family member affected by conscription.
Standing in the group that belonged to Blake I stepped towards the back of the group recognizing one of the students at the front to be the guy who threw a punch on the first day. The audacity to punish me when I was reprimanding someone in the nicest way I could really bothered me but it’s not like I am that physically strong. Most of it goes to how absurdly potent my family bloodline is in the first place. Then again that brought back bad memories of being yelled at over how pathetic it was it took me two hours to heal being stabbed in the abdomen. Shuddering, he focused on the instructor speaking.
“This semester you will be having a revision of some basics related to your preferred weaponry and being instructed in techniques centric towards your specialty. But before working on your weapon skills you need to work on your physical capacity. Anyway, whoever fails to reach the minimum physical capabilities needed will be given about two weeks to show significant improvement in physicality. A large thing you will need to understand is weapon training and combat mobility will play off how strong you are in regards to your own body and endurance. Burst strength may give you an edge in a fight but a battle needs you to avoid tiring out. So let's begin with an endurance run testing how long you all can keep going.”
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Groans amongst the crowd of other boys rang out as we all lamented the idea of an endurance run as the sun stung our backs. Regardless, listening to the instructor was mandatory and no one really wanted to protest who could probably pick us up with one hand. So we all headed onto the track and began our run. Taking a deep breath I began to run amongst the crowd letting myself sink into my thoughts, grateful that Ashroth seemed to just be observing and busying himself going through his memories. Something to do with finding if I had any talents or not.
Pushing my own thoughts away I just let myself sink back into those feelings of training back home. Sounds of complaints amongst the others sunk away and the feeling of warmth from the sun felt as if it had faded into nothing. It was not until I felt a tap on my shoulder I came to a complete halt and looked confused at the Instructor who had a grin as he patted my back.
“Well I see someone has trained up their stamina.” He let out a belly deep laugh as he patted my back causing me to barely catch myself falling forward. Confused, I looked to see along the track around and behind me were all the other students laying or sitting on the ground catching their breath and drinking water. “Looks like you got a runner’s high. Frankly I did not expect you to keep running for another ten laps after young Craig stopped. Truly an outstanding performance from an Alphonse.”
I winced at the statement being reminded I had no actual claim to that name as I gave a fake smile. “Yes, my family was quite strict about physical training.”
“Well the family of warlords truly would not be any less impressive. Alright that was quite a good check for endurance but I suppose I had failed to realise how diligent you had all been. Even after two hours most of you kept up till the final quarter. After fifteen minutes of hydration and rest we will move onto some practice spars. This will also help test to see how well you retain mental focus even after being drained.” Watching him walk past the students he stretched out his hands and the bottles or cups they held all began to refill with water. An impressive feat considering the range of track was about a kilometre in radius and he had encompassed it all. I could not tell if it was his magic or a placebo but there was also a cool gust of wind that swept the track as I took a breather and sat down.
“You’re a lot more resilient than I thought. I knew how harsh the Alphonse family was in training but this is… I thought I knew torture.” Ashroth seemed a little shocked by his tone. As I saw him manifest onto my shoulder. “Good news you clearly have a decent level of skill in academics like magical theory and mathematics. Engineering and studying sciences is probably the best thing you can do. Pursuing those avenues would be a good choice. After all, in the old wars, dwarves definitely proved the ferocity that engineering weapons of war can be. I suppose the precedent of magic was prioritised since it’s easier to develop and control in the long run.” Musing over his thoughts I would have listened longer if I did not see the instructor call everyone over.
Getting up I brushed the dust off my clothing and stood amongst the crowd as I watched the quiet murmurs pass around. Looking ahead there were a few racks of wooden weaponry. Curiosity held everyone’s gaze as they turned towards the instructor who was grinning.
“Now that you all have managed to rest, we will see how well you put up with sparring. This way I will be able to oversee whether you have any solid foundation. The students without three years of training will head to Talia and the rest will be here.” Glancing over at the students heading towards Talia I looked across the rest of my group and felt a sense of dread seeing that other student who punched me in the face. Though the likelihood I woul-
“Hal Craig and Lucas Alphonse please take your preferred weapons and stand in the circle.” Blake looked at the both of us and I could only groan at my luck.
Nodding as I headed to the weapon rack I could feel the gaze of expectations across the back of my neck as I gripped the wooden quarterstaff. Yet looking over I had not felt any surprise seeing Hal grip the sword. Stepping into the circle I could feel Ashroth on my shoulder as I looked over towards Hal.
“Lucas… what exactly have you done to this boy? This kind of hatred does not come without cause. He wants you dead.” Ashroth made his remark in a murmur feeling incredulous as even I could tell by his gaze that he clearly wished that wooden blade was a steel one.
“Fuck me…” I groaned as I gripped my spear and took a stance.