Nestor's bloodied smile quickly vanished from Cole's field of vision, as the unconscious monk finally hit the ground.

Suddenly the captain found his shoulders unable to move, soon enough he recognized a pair of muscular arms holding him still. It was none other than Marco. Then young athlete was still partially covered in sand, highlighting the mean he used to ambush the knight.

'The first two were a decoy so that I wouldn't think of the possibility of them using again the same method.

But how did he manage to hide under the sand, being given such a small amount of time? Nestor distracted me for a minute at best.

Could it be... The kid? When did the little scoundrel even disappear...'

Being caught off guard, due to the initial surprise, Cole didn't immediately react to Marco's hold. However, soon enough, the knight began to exert his strength.

'How can he be so strong while I am physically bigger than him. If this continues I feel like my arms are going to break!'

The young athlete couldn't do it anymore, as the pressure applied by the knight started to increase by the second.

As Marco's freed the Captain from his hold, to greet the knight this time was Nessa. The young lady was already in front of him, with her cheeks full of blood, she rapidly opened her mouth and sprayed it into his eyes.

"ARGH!"

Captain Cole rapidly falls to one knee, his eyes burning with fire. Nessa had cut herself earlier on her arm, storing some blood inside her mouth. The bleed had stopped fairly quickly, as she had just opened a superficial wound.

The next part of the plan was about them assaulting the blinded Captain, in an attempt of retribution against the pain he made them go through.

However, both Nessa and Marco now found themselves unable to move, encased in a sand coffin.

"Really well thought for the little time you had, the execution was also pretty good. Alas, it wasn't enough.

You lack experience, on the battlefield, the difference between decisiveness and cockiness is that of life and death. Here in Ceres, you mustn't think with the standards of your home worlds.

Quality does often prevail against quantity, not always, but you must never underestimate a strong opponent. I'll tell you more.

I am a 'Captain Knight', and you as trainees, stand two military ranks below me. To be able to get me, you would require at least thirty more.

Now, back to our training, since you seem to be preferring the hard way, we'll do as you like."

Cries of anguish and murmurs of pain resounded through the training grounds. As the merciless Cole proceeded to put everyone unconscious.

"Cough! Cough! What happened here?"

Nestor straightened his neck, as memories finally began to resurface. He was now sitting on the hot sand, giving his back on the cold, white walls of the fountain. On his right was Marco, which seemed to have taken the beating of his life, dried blood cold bee seen down his nostrils, as well as black marks plastered around his eyes.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

On his left was Richard, a tall brown skinned man. He was bald and had a goatee and unusually long mustaches. His conditions weren't as bad as that of the ones that participated in Nestor's plan. He seemed to be highly fatigued and had still a few cuts from the previous lashes.

"You guys sure had it rough, I've seen how the Captain beat the shit out of you. What did you even do to make him pissed like that?"

Richard's deep voice surprised Nestor for a second, as he was still checking on his body condition. His guts were still hurting a lot from Cole's punch, he had also multiple deep gashes around his arms and on his back. However, at the same time, a strange feeling was enveloping his body.

Now he could clearly feel it, there was another part of him that he couldn't reach no matter what. Nestor knew that it was there, located under his sternum, however, he didn't have any form of control over it.

"Is this my Soul?"

The almost silent whisper confused Richard at first until he simply thought of it as the ramblings of an overly fatigued man.

"Ah yes! We tried to attack the instructor together, as he really didn't state any rules to the training. However, I didn't expect him to be this strong, and as a result, I got knocked up fairly quickly.

Now I can see that our plan ultimately failed, but well we still tried nonetheless."

Nestor was indeed demoralized, a defeat is a defeat after all, yet he was still somewhat proud of his bold execution. His past self wouldn't have had the courage and determination to do so.

To rebel against rules and impositions he despised and thought as unfair, he never even tried to.

"You are finally up, well, if you weren't a trainee under me, I would have made you unable to move for a good while.

Still, I must apploud your determination. Anyway, I have already informed your teachers about the end of your first training sessions.

You have an hour to get ready after that go find them in their rooms. You have about a day worth of travel, so be sure to pack up a drink and food as well as a change of clothes."

Nestor understood that an important event was just around the corner. Hearing Cole's speech made him remember how poor he was, completely penniless.

"Captain, could perhaps explain to me, why didn't I receive any money? I have already seen other trainees with some sort of allowance."

The knight remained still, caressing his beard in thought.

"It isn't easy for me to accurately respond, as your case isn't very frequent. But I believe that the cause should be your medallion.

Medallions are ranked in relation to the advantages they will give you the moment you arrive here in Ceres. Yours must have been of the lowest rank, a type 5 medallion, which cannot even transport your previous body here. Thus it needed you to die before it could be activated.

These models are very ancient and rare, very few are still being used to this day. This does not mean that they are useless, It's just that we have lost knowledge about their real functions.

Well, at least that's what an old friend of mine had told me. Thus the reason for your poverty should be it, I'd advise you to ask your teacher about a few jobs."

A more detailed explanation about his medallion had been much appreciated, apparently, this old trinket had even more to it. Thus making what Teresa told him, half-lies.

Before going back toward his lodgings, Nestor gave a quick glance at the new acquaintances he just made, they seemed to be an exotic lot of people.

An imperceptible smile appeared on his face, as he noticed both the redness and occasional scratching around Cole's eyes.

'So we did make it in the end huh?'

An hour later, Nestor presented himself before Lenard's study. He had previously rested in his room, thanks to the candle he felt reinvigorated. Then he took a quick shower and left a small message for Linneo, saying that he would be out for the next day.

He knocked on the door.

"Welcome Nestor, please come in. I have already prepared a teleportation scroll for both of us. Arm yourself with patience, because we'll have to wait in line, a very long one at that.

In the meantime, I'll try to entertain you to the best of my capabilities! We'll hold our first theoretical lesson! Aren't you excited?

Anyway, I heard you did exceptionally well back in the training grounds. Perhaps you already feel it, your soul? Or did you manifest any kind of strange phenomenons already?"