“I understand that they don’t want you in the military and want you to go to the academy instead, but why would they hurt Tonny?” Simon raged after hearing Tamara’s story.

“If they don’t want you to have a 1st gen bond, why did they give it to you in the first place?” Stevan asked the girl.

“My father wanted me to join the sect; he even prepared a bond for me. But I don’t like being told what I should do, so I chose my own bond and joined the military. I did not know my father had such a big ambition that he would do such a thing....” she ground her teeth in frustration.

“What ambition?” Arthur curiously asked.

“He wants me to marry Dusk Family’s heir to build an alliance aganist the Turner. With both our families backing Ferdinand Dusk, he will reach the Transformation realm and compete with the Sect Leader. But my father feels that having a 1st gen bond would put us at a disadvantage, and the Dusk family would look down on us. So he did what he did...”

*Crack*

Arthur looked to the side; Aroon broke his training sword handle; he put too much pressure in his grip.

‘Did he get angry at the mention of Ferdinand or because of Tamara?’ Arthur mused.

“Those old fools, always thinking about themselves; they would even burn this city if it means getting what they want,” Aroon cursed aloud, showing his distaste for the families.

“Are you angry only because of what he did to Tonny, or because he is forcing you to marry someone?” Simon asked curiously.

“Of course, because of Tonny, why would I care about who I’m going to marry? Even before the apocalypse, I knew one day they would find the highest bidder for me,” Tamara said in resignation.

“You should care if they are going to give you to Ferdinand... He is a psychopath, who knows how many people he killed for fun,” Aroon said in disgust.

“Huh? Isn’t that illegal?” Simon pointed out.

“Of course, it is. But what do you think Dusk family is? They are above the law as long as they don’t offend someone like Turners or Ives!” the usually aloof Aroon got heated.

“They are your family, you know? Shouldn't you talk better about them?” Stevan cut in.

“What family? I’d rather have no relatives than be grouped with them!”

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“It's okay, Aroon; I will think about Ferdinand later. I don’t have the energy to think about it right now; I just hope Tonny will be alright,” Tamara told the raging man to calm him down.

The 4th squad members were talking with each other, then the dorm room slammed open.

“Why are you all here? I told you not to slack, didn’t I? Or do you think you all can already fight against a 1st Tier Spirit animal?” Layla barged inside and started scolding them whne she found all of them inside.

They quickly stood at the ready, but no one talked back to the sergeant. They knew better than to fuel her rage.

“Since all of you stay silent, I will take it as a yes. Tomorrow you will fight Karina at the 2nd Tier of Spirit Animal level!”

“Now I suggest you go out and train! Or do you still think it's too easy? If any of you think that's too easy, then I will gladly increase the difficulty once again.”

“No ma’am!” they said in unison before rushing out of the dorm to the yard to train.

“Tamara, follow me. The Colonel wants to talk with you,” Arthur could hear Layla telling Tamara to go to the colonel's office as he went out.

Arthur forcefully pushed unimportant things out of his mind and started thinking about how to succeed on the test they would take the next day since Layla just increased the difficulty.

“Athena, do you know how much stronger 2nd-tier Spirit animals are?” he asked his teammate.

“They should be around 30 percent faster and stronger, but as long as you can keep up, they should not be too different than 1st tier,” she told him.

“I see... are you confident in winning?”

The girl nodded without hesitation, “No problem,” she assured him.

“Well, I’m not...” he honestly said.

“Why not? I think you got the basics already; if you use martial techniques, you should be able to win,” Athena said casually.

“Huh? What Martial Technique? I can’t use martial techniques,” Arthur got confused.

“...” she became silent.

“When you fought Sergeant Hawkins, didn’t you use a Martial technique to catch her hand?” She pointed out.

Arthur thought back about his fight before it finally hit him.

“That was a Martial Technique? I didn’t know; I thought that was just from adrenaline...” he scratched the back of his head.

“It is; I could see Qi on your arm when you used it,” she nodded.

“You can see Qi!?” Arthur was shocked at her revelation.

She nodded once more but did not elaborate further. After a few seconds of silence, she got close to him, her mouth near his ear.

“It’s my trait,” she whispered.

“I see...” Arthur felt his face get hot.

‘It's past noon already; why did it suddenly get hotter?’ he wondered.

“Anyway, I didn’t know it was a Martial Technique... It just happened. How can I use it again?” he asked curiously.

“...”

“Each Martial technique is different; I don’t think what works for me will work for you,” she shook her head.

“You can use a Martial Technique too, Athena? Why didn’t you use it?”

“I just don’t feel like it,” she mysteriously said.

“Ughh... how can I use a Martial technique... should I ask Aroon for help? But we are not that close, and he seems to be in a bad mood,” Arthur mumbled.

“How about you try to do what you did while fighting Sergeant Hawkins? Try to channel Qi to your arm,” Athena suggested.

“But I can’t sense Qi yet...” He got dejected.

“But, I can see them. Just keep trying; I will tell you if it's working,” she pointed at her eyes.

“Alright, there is no harm in trying anyway,” he agreed.

‘I think Athena is changing for the better; she seems more normal now when we are alone. I just hope she shows her expression a bit when talking,’ Arthur continued training while trying to use his Martial Technique.