Chapter 44: Physical Assessment

The three of them headed towards the Martial faction headquarters.

Not only was today the start of classes for the year, it was also the day that Teo would officially join the Martial faction.

Windle also decided to come along. Although he was not formally joining the faction, many outsiders like him were allowed to participate as well.

"I'm glad that both of you finally see how great my decision is", Lia proudly said.

She was the first person among them who joined the Martial faction and was feeling a little superior for  her foresight

"I can only join you guys three times a week or else my cousin will complain about me skipping work", Windle said

During the ranking tournament, Rowen gave them really great advice. Windle was convinced that if he wanted to become strong, besides practicing his elemental control, he should also learn how to use his body to fight.

"Come to think of it, Teo, aren't you suppose to work today?", Lia asked

"No, I've already told my boss that I wouldn't be able to come anymore", Teo responded

With Teo's sudden interest in learning how to fight, he decided to take time off from work in order to pursue his new interest. With his sudden windfall from selling a drop of his blood, he didn't need to work at least for a few years even if he spent quite extravagantly.

He also did not want to reduce his precious library time so the only choice for him was to quit his job.

When they arrived, they saw Rowen and Gina standing by the entrance waiting for them.

A gentle wind blew from the courtyard. A faint smell of sweat and blood wafted through the air.

"Little Teo, Junior Lia, Junior Windle, you've all arrived", Rowen greeted amiably

Teo smiled in reply

"Let's go get you assessed", Gina gestured everyone to follow her

"Assessed?", Windle asked

Windle who was not too familiar with the Martial faction did not know what this assessment was all about. Teo on the other hand knew slightly about the assessments but never took one himself.

It was because Teo started training in the Martial faction later in the year, and did not officially join the faction, but now, it was start of the school year and the Martial faction did assessments for new recruits as well as people who wanted to participate.

"The assessments will figure out where you excel at and where you are weakest", Gina explained

The assessment was split in multiple stages.

The first stage, Teo and Windle was to do 15 meter dashes while Gina and Rowen timed them. This was to test their sprint's speed.

Windle's result was surprisingly average, while Teo on the other hand was slower than average.

Lia who was watching the whole thing felt smug. From her results last year, her speed was above average.

Next was a stamina test. At the back of the Martial faction was a circular track. There were other people using the track but it was wide enough for many people to use it without obstructions.

Rowen, Gina and Lia sat down near the area and counted how many laps the two could do before tiring themselves out.

When Windle started, his speed was considerably faster than Teo but as time passed, his speed slowed down. It was not easy to keep running at top speed for too long. Teo on the other hand maintained a relatively normal pace all throughout.

A figure approached the ladies who were sitting down.

"Yo! What are you guys doing here?", a loud and boisterous voice sounded

"Tordin", Gina said as she recognize the approaching figure

"Nothing much, my brother is joining the faction"

"Doing his assessment personally?"

"Yeah"

A smile appeared on his face

'Senior Aran's brother, hmm... could be fun', Tordin thought

"I could also help train him if you don't want. As the champion of this year's 2 tournaments won't it be more beneficial for him?", Tordin graciously offered, but Rowen could easily tell what Tordin was thinking.

"No thanks. If I let you handle it, he might come to hate me", Rowen refused without the slightest hesitation

"Okay, but if you change your mind, you know where you can find me"

With that, Tordin headed towards the academy's gates. Tordin would often head to the city and participate in the city's dueling arenas. Since the duels within the academy was restricted, Tordin felt the he would lose his edge if he did not have a serious fight from time to time and the city's dueling arena had no restrictions what so ever. Sometimes participants would be maimed, some even killed.

The academy did not prevent students in participating in these kinds of duels, but they did warned them of it. The academy was responsible for were the safety of their students within the academy, as for what was outside, it was out of their jurisdiction.

The expedition years of the students forced them into dangerous situations. Although each group was escorted by an academy elder, this was only to prevent them dying too easily, but death would sometimes occur. This was to hone both students and teachers and as such, the students could not be protected 100% of the time. They had to use their own judgment to protect themselves.

If a student used his judgment outside the academy and ended up being maimed or killed, it was their own fault.

Windle finally collapsed after over an hour of constant running, Teo on the other hand stopped after lasting over 2 hours.

"Okay go rest for a bit, and we'll continue with the assessment after you've recovered"

The assessment covered their speed, stamina, strength, flexibility, then following that, Teo and Windle was given a strange test.

"Okay, lets play rock-paper-scissors", Gina said

Gina stood in front of Teo while Rowen stood in front of Windle.

Although Rowen wanted to be partnered up with Teo, Gina prevented it because it could cause biased with the results.

Windle and Teo was clueless on how rock-paper-scissors was related to learning how to fight.

The first few rounds, Windle and Teo played; So far, they have won each and every round. Gina and Rowen's hands were quite slow but each and every round their hand speed would sped up a bit.

As each hand sped up, Windle started to react too slowly and started to lose. On the other hand, Teo could still react to the last moment changes to Gina's hands.

"Oh?", Gina became surprised and sped up even more.

Soon her hands became so fast that Teo could not physically react even though he could see what Gina was going to use.

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After the rock-paper-scissors, both Rowen and Gina was amazed how Teo could last so long before starting to lose some of the rounds.

"Not bad at all, Teo you have a pretty good reaction", Gina praised

"Yeah, its pretty amazing to have that reaction for someone who hasn't done any training before", Rowen also praised

"Heh, Thanks. I could've done better but my body can't keep up at all", Teo said

Hearing Teo's statement, Gina took it as if he was bragging and took a bronze coin and flipped it in the air. As the coin fell her hands moved swiftly and grabbed it.

"Where is the coin?", Gina said as she held out both closed hands.

This was not part of the assessment but Gina was decided to humor Teo's statement. With Teo's statement, he implied that he could tell which hand Gina would use but could not counter it in time.

Windle took a look and participated too.

"The left hand", Windle guessed

"Right hand", Lia said

Rowen gave a small smile. Gina was teasing the three with a simple trick.

Everyone waited for Teo's response.

"Right one", Teo answered

Gina gave a smile and revealed the coin was indeed in her right hand.

She flipped it again, but this time her hands became faster.

"Where is it?", she grinned

Lia this time stayed quiet, waiting for Teo to answer first.

"Right", Teo answered

Windle and Lia didn't answer. This time, Windle couldn't see where the coin was, so he didn't want to guess randomly. Lia on the other hand knew the answer was correct so she also didn't answer.

Gina revealed the coin again. She flipped the coin once more in the air and this time, she moved so fast that Windle could not perceived Gina move at all.

"Left", Teo answered

"Right", Lia answered as well.

'Finally! Teo got it wrong', Lia thought.

She wanted to prove that her current ability is far above Teo's so she said her answer

But she noticed Rowen and Lia's faces. They were even more surprised than before.

Gina slowly open her right hand and when Lia saw this, she was also dumbfounded.

The coin was not there!

Then the left hand opened and a small bronze coin was laying there.

Gina's speed was so fast that she created a small feint in hopes to trick Teo, but in the end, only Lia was tricked.

'Is it coincidence?', Rowen and Gina both thought

Rowen took the coin from Gina's hand and she tossed it up in the air.

As the coin fell, it suddenly disappeared.

Windle couldn't tell how the coin suddenly disappeared; Even Lia could not see it as well.

Rowen had two of her hands closed in front of her, and asked

"Teo, Where is the coin?"

Teo gave a bright smile.

"Big sister, its in your left pocket"

"!!"

Gina's mouth dropped to the floor!

Comparing her speed to Rowen, she was slightly slower. She could track Rowen's movements but this was because she was used to it through 7 years of training.

For some reason, Teo could also see it!

Rowen tried tricking Teo as well. If he answered "left" or "right" both answers would be wrong. For Teo to answer correctly, he had to clearly see where the coin was.

By passing the test, it proved that Teo could tell Rowen's high speed movements without training at all.

This could only be called as talent!

But what they didn't know was that Teo's eyes were given an upgrade by the old man Cien

"Wow..", Gina was speechless

"Teo you have pretty good eyes"

Because his eyes were being praised, he somewhat understood that because of the upgrade that his master gave him, he was able to see some things that he shouldn't be able to.

Even Lia and Windle were in awe by Teo's ability.

....

When the assessments were finished Windle's results showed that his speed and strength were fairy good, but he lacked stamina and had an average hand speed and senses.

As for Teo, his stamina was a little above average but his strength and speed was below average. The surprising thing was his reaction speed. Specifically because of his eyes, his reaction speed and senses were deemed exceptional.

Rowen and Gina soon devised a training menu for both of them.

Windle's training menu was focused on increasing his stamina. As for his reaction speed, it would naturally improve the faster and more experienced he becomes. The majority of the time, he was assigned to run at extended periods of time to increase his stamina.

Teo's on the other hand was focused on increasing his instantaneous speed on both of his legs and arms. If his body could not keep up with his eyes, it would be a waste of inborn talent.

The majority of Teo's menu involved sprinting on heavy, sandy and uneven terrain with weights on his arms and legs. The weights would slowly increase as time went by to strengthen his muscles. He was also required to sprint through the shallow lake and throw punches to improve his overall speed.

Aside for their training menus, Teo and Windle was also scheduled to spar once every week. After each spar, they would be given a lecture on what they can improve on. This was the basic level of training required for new recruits.

Lia who has already passed this stage is allowed to make her own training menu depending on what she wants to improve. She can also strengthen her body by meditation but for Teo and Windle, they needed a strong base for their body first before they could train in such a way. Of course, Lia could also ask her seniors if she needed help in creating her own training menu.

....

Arrive back to his cave, Teo laid down on his bed.

He rested for a while to recover some of his fatigue.

A bronze fist badge was placed on his sleeves.

Thinking about he requirements of being a member, they had to regularly visit the faction headquarters and improve themselves. Teo did not expect that the whole idea of wanting to learn how to fight was so time consuming.

As he stared towards his ceiling, he recalled the inscriptions that was on Emily's necklace.

He took out a piece of paper and drew the inscriptions as he remembered it.

Although Teo was confident with his memorization, he was not 100% sure he had completely remembered it in all of its entirety.

From his memory, he knew what the main function of a void jewelry was.

'I wonder if I can make an array similar to this inscriptions', he pondered