Ali sat up when the system alarm came on. He hastily left the sleeping quarters to get ahead of the others. Unsurprisingly, he encountered Belen in the cafeteria. They chatted a bit before they parted ways with the teenager heading to his literacy class with Juraj. Ali started realizing how incredible it was to have a one on one session with the instructor. They moved at a pace that he was comfortable with and, in the last ten or so minutes of the class, the instructor shared the contents of a book far beyond his current literacy level. He felt himself making big strides in his reading abilities.
I wish that class lasted longer.
With his thoughts on his previous class, Ali nearly collided with someone leaving the track room. He hastily apologized and walked inside, not ready for what was inside. In the center of the race track, there was a large pool of water. Only a few teenagers, including Belen, were moving around in the water. The others either stuck to the track or stayed as far away from the water as possible. Ali walked over to Master Nabil and greeted the man. Then, he inquired about the pool.
“That? You’ll learn how to swim in that.”
“Swim in the water?”
Ali grew up on a pillar formation surrounded by the ocean. He had seen the powerful waves that were far stronger than any human. The idea of going into the water to perform an action called swimming was ridiculous to him. He looked at Nabil and his puzzlement must have been written on his face.
“I understand your skepticism.” Master Nabil pointed to a teenager shoved into the pool by another teenager. “You may not always get a choice in the matter. We live in a dangerous world and we must learn to fight in all conditions. If you fall into the water and drown, then your battle ends before it even starts. You'll also be surprised how good swimming is for your fitness and endurance.”
After finishing his fifty laps, Ali walked up to the edge of the pool. He checked a few times behind him to make sure no one was in a position to shove him in. As he stood over the edge, Belen suddenly surfaced and dragged him in.
“Help! I can’t swim! I can’t sw-”
Realizing that he could stand with his head out of the water, the teenager could feel his face turning red. Meanwhile, Belen was too busy holding her stomach laughing.
You bitch! I’ll be sure to get you back!
Once he calmed his beating heart, Ali approached Belen.
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“Teach me how to swim.”
When Belen froze, Ali repeated his request. He watched Belen’s face turn from confusion to seriousness. After a short pause, she nodded her head. Up until lunch bell, Ali followed the instructions of Belen before he was told to swim laps around the pool. By the time he finished, the teenager barely had the energy to get out of the pool.
How is swimming so exhausting? I’ve never felt so drained. This almost feels like the aftermath of the golem beating me up.
Despite being called names by Belen, Ali lacked the energy to get out of the pool himself. The girl then tried unsuccessfully to pull him out. When he thought he might miss lunch, he felt a strong pair of arms lift him out of the pool onto solid ground.
“Good work out there, kid! Keep this up and you might be ready for the promotional exam.”
“Exam?”
“Have you forgotten about wanting to become S rank one day?” asked Belen. “The promotional exam will get you into C rank, a step closer to that goal.”
During lunch, Ali listened intently as Belen described the upcoming promotional exam. She spoke of the fierce competition as only the top three participants would be promoted. The exam would see the participants form groups of three assigned to tasks on the ground. The exam would force the participants to deal with the real world where death could be around the corner. The first group to complete all the tasks would see all of its members promoted while the other groups with good finishes would be compensated with some prizes to give them motivation.
“How are the groups decided?” asked Ali, now intrigued with the exam.
“Participants can form their own groups. There are no requirements because those who form weak groups will be weeded out easily.”
“Do you have a group?” When he saw Belen shake her head, he asked another question. “Let’s be in the same group then?”
As a newcomer, the teenager knew only Belen among all the teenagers. He had a duel with her so he knew about her abilities. He would rather work with her than a random stranger he knew nothing about. When the girl hesitated, he thought she was going to say no. Before he left the table, he saw a nod and a quiet yes. Satisfied that he only needed one more person to complete his group, Ali headed to the combat training room. It was only when he left the cafeteria did his fatigue return with a vengeance. The teenager crawled the rest of the way until he joined those already beaten down by the golems.
“Nabil made today a pool day?” asked Caelan.
“Yes,” muttered Ali.
“Get some rest!” The instructor stopped after he took a few steps. “When you can swim and not get tired, you’ll be ready to handle my golems.”
Handle the golems? That sounds like it will be fun!
On the ground, Ali turned his head to observe the fighters who weren’t instantly beaten by the golems. They all kept up with the golems while also going on the attack. At a glance, he could tell that keeping up wasn’t enough. The golems were tough and any weak abilities like his level 1 air slash would only tickle the summonees. Yet, he couldn’t do much about leveling up his abilities if he didn’t have access to something convenient like the duel rings.
What can I do?