It was day two of training, or week two for these hunters of Ohm in virtual reality. The first week in virtual reality and day one in real life were spent training the basic foundations of fighting and espionage. All the hunters underwent a rigorous routine of moving through the obstacle courses, fighting to the death with each other and performing the basics of formations and following orders. Manusya acted as an overseer of everything, commanding their training and instilling the military discipline and knowledge he acquired back in the ark. The hunters did not feel any hunger nor any desire to sleep or rest. Despite their mental train, they trained non-stop for that entire week. A gruelling, hellish regime. Every pain imaginable were experienced by the hunters. From stabs, cuts and slashes—their bodies were mentally conditioned to endure pain.
No rest and the time dilation are why one week in VR is the limit for one day. Manusya thought and chuckled.
The virtual reality would help the hunters perform better and instill onto them proper training. It would not , however, help with improving their physique in real life — they would have to train in reality for that — but thankfully these hunters who foraged and hunted strong beasts in the forest were already physically fit and capable, they only needed the training to increase their potentials.
Compared to their undisciplined and messy state during the first day, currently, all the hunters were lining up in proper assembly formation. Each hunter was in a resting military position, with their hands behind their backs and their two feets split apart from each other. They maintained equal distance and space from each other and looked straight ahead valiantly. There was something different in their eyes, they were slowly morphing into fierce warriors.
Our current training would not be enough, but I will train them again long-term. Manusya said in his mind and nodded. He was currently in front of everyone at a resting position as well.
"Alright, hunters of Ohm. You have done a fine job surviving the first week of training." Manusya said to everyone. "Now, in this final week of training before we prepare ourselves to attack the Hydarians, we will get to the real meat of our operation."
Silence. Everyone was simply listening to their commander's speech without any desire to reply or say anything. Their eyes, though, could not lie. Many of them looked curious — and some fearful — of what the next stage of training would be.
"I have assessed all of your capabilities as both soldiers and leaders, and now I will be splitting all of you into groups."
Manusya conjured a clipboard in his hand, a list of hunters and squads were written down.
"This is going to be our make up: A team will consists of four to five hunters with a leader among them. Two of those teams will make up a squad, led by what I call a Sergeant. And then two squads will make up a platoon that is led by a Lieutenant. And finally, all platoons will report to a Captain, who will report directly to me, the Commander." Manusya announced to everyone.
Eyes of confusion and resolve. Many of the more intelligent hunters understood right away what such groupings would entail, their first week of training and some exercises they performed already simulated groups. The other hunters, however, were confused on why such a thing was necessary. For them, warfare was simply about overpowering your enemy, why would you need to split up into groups? they thought.
"I will announce the make up of each groups soon, but now I will announce who will be the Captain who will report directly to me." Manusya walked to one of the hunters at the front row. A bald Ohm hunter looked up at him. "Congratulations, Ahmi. You are now the Captain of our army." he said as he patted down Ahmi's shoulder.
Ahmi's eyes bulged out in surprise, and a single tear almost escaped his eyeball. "I-it is an honour, Aksh—no, Commander! I will do my best to lead everyone!" he said with a powerful voice.
The hunters started clapping and cheering. They broke discipline and formation to congratulate Ahmi, who they already thought was one of the most brave hunters among them.
Oh, well. Manusya thought as he saw his soldiers being undisciplined. It's good to keep morale up. They will need it for this week's training and their upcoming real battle.
"Alright, everyone," Manusya said in his normal volume, yet everyone heard him and immediately ceased their cheering and returned to their previous formation. "I will announce the groupings now. I will give you an hour to get to know each other and for the leaders to establish themselves with the group."
Manusya snapped his finger. Suddenly, behind everyone, a gigantic military tent with tables of trays of food and drinks could be seen. They were filled with Earth food that not only probably could not be found on this planet, but something that was entirely foreign to the taste buds of the Ohm people. The hunters looked at the food with hungry eyes. Even when they could not feel hunger here physically, they were always mentally hungry and wanted to taste food.
"Go on," Manusya pointed at the tent. "At the end of the hour, report back here."
The hunters delightedly ran towards the tent and obtained plates of food. They were food that they had never seen before: noodles and pasta, rice and naan, there was food from various Earth regions laid out on the table. They all took plates and sat down on the floor, as was tradition for the Osmanians. They sat down in groups according to their teams, squads and platoons.
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"This is divine-tasting!" A hunter said as he gulped down curry and rice."I had never seen such food! What some of the Hydarians brought with them also did not look like this."
"This must be the food of the gods!"
"Yes! That could only be it. The Seven probably consume these magnificent cuisines! Since the Aksha is their envoy, it makes sense."
"This one might not be my taste." A hunter said as he ate a hamburger and frowned.
Many of them were busy praising and critiquing the food at first, but slowly, they were talking with their teams and squadmates. Of course, since they were all from the same small village, everyone knew each other. But now as they were assigned to the same team, they tried to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of each team member.
Ahmi, the leader of all the hunters now as their new Captain, did not stay in one spot for his meal but took turns talking to each platoon and squad. He greeted everyone and tried to establish his position in power. The hunters that were now under him greeted him warmly and congratulated him on his promotion, except for one.
A taller, more muscular man than Ahmi who fashioned long flowing hair approached the new captain. The man showed signs of contempt, even disrespect towards Ahmi.
"You curried favour with the Aksha and now you have a high position. You must be happy, Ahmi." The imposing man said, looking down at Ahmi.
Ahmi frowned but did not waver. "Lieutenant Groma. I suggest you stand down before I have to discipline you," he said.
"Discipline me!?" Groma's laughter roared around the encampment. "You, who cannot even protect your wife and children and had them taken away by the Hydarians, is now our leader?"
"Groma! That is foul behaviour!"
"You know every one of us has had something taken away by the Hydarians, how could you say such a thing?"
The hunters nearby stood up behind Ahmi in defence of him.
Ahmi seethed in anger but remained calm. "Lieutenant. I do not care if you resent me, but do not ruin the plans of our Commander by this insubordination." Ahmi stretched out his fist towards Groma. "We have a looming battle ahead of us. If we succeed and return to the village in one piece, then you may challenge me to a blood duel, if you wish to covet my position."
"Blood duel?" A hunter exclaimed.
"That is preposterous! We have not had a blood duel in a decade." Another hunter said.
A blood duel was one to the death, or until one truly submits his entire being and existence to the victor. It was an old tradition of the Osmanians to settle disputes, but it was an extremely rare thing due to the brotherhood that each village have with one another.
Groma grinned and punched bost of his fists together. "Heh. Fine by me. I hope you keep that oath. You are right about one thing, I do not want to be an obstacle for the Aksha."
Groma began walking away from the commotion, but he suddenly stopped in his track and turned his neck halfway. "I loved her, she was everything to me. I gave up my courting because she chose you, and you lost her like that. I cannot forgive you." his voice was shaking with rage.
Ahmi's eyes were melancholic, he could not say anything back and only watched Groma walk away. He clenched his fist and resolved himself.
After the hour had passed, the hunters returned to the assembly field. This time, their formation was according to their teams, squads and platoons. They also noticed that their assignment to their group was not random. After conversations with each other, they realised that they each had something in common for their general strengths and weaknesses. Some squads were better in range with their bows and arrows, while some were adept close hand-to-hand combatants. They all realised the wisdom of the Aksha and how this could be an advantage in warfare.
Manusya appeared out of thin air in front of everyone. No one was surprised, they were getting used to the fact that in this strange plane that they found themselves in, the Aksha was a god who could do anything.
"Good, everyone is here." Manusya looked at the formation and nodded in approval. "Excellent, then we will start our week of training. This is what we will be doing." he snapped his finger.
The environments around them were transforming again in front of their eyes. The running track and obstacle courses disappeared and visions of trees replaced them. They found themselves inside a forest that they recognised to be their own, but now they were at a place far from their village.
"D-did we return to the real world?" A hunter said as he looked around in confusion.
"You fool. This must still be inside of Aksha's realm." The person next to him replied.
Manusya also replied, "That's right. This is still all an illusion. Look over there." he pointed towards a clearing in the forest.
Suddenly, a fortress made out of clay-like materials was built in front of them. They could see Hydarian soldiers manifesting into existence and patrolling around the perimeter of the fortress and along the walls.
"It's them!"
"W-we are going to fight them..."
The hunters were worried. Despite their training, they still feared the might of the Hydarians. They did not know if they could defeat them.
"We will now begin our planning and simulation of what I will call Operation Liberation, our attack on the Hydarian fortress." Manusya looked at everyone. "We will practice every move and every step until we have it down to perfection. There will be no breaks or rest. This will also be your chance to train with your teams and increase your combat chemistry with one another."
Manusya snapped his finger again and a big war table appeared in front of him. A miniature version of the fortress could be seen on the table. Small figurines representing allies and enemies littered the diorama.
"Everyone. Listen to what I'm about to say." Manusya said.
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Manusya woke up from the alarm inside of his head. He opened his eyes to see the roof of the hut inside the Ohm village. He raised his body and sat up on the side of the bed. Manusya checked the time on his AR interface.
He sighed in worry. "It is time." he stood up and reached for his clothing. "The day the Hydarians will come for their aetherus."
The invaders returned, and the oppressed schemed. The time of liberation was nigh.
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ART
Groma:
[https://i.imgur.com/e3ufQ3n.png]
New Cover Art:
[https://i.imgur.com/Lao9T6o.jpg]