For the remainder of the week, Ali found himself starting the days off with morning runs followed by other drills and exercises like climbing and swimming. Having never got a proper answer on the airship, he asked his roommates if they knew why the drills were necessary when they could be spending their time honing their abilities.

“I don’t know the details,” said Kamis, “but I was told that stat increases do little in improving our bodies. It’s entirely possible to have weak bodies and incredible stats.”

“I know that weak bodies means that a few hits can knock you unconscious,” added Svenne. "What's the point of having a lot of HP if a tiny bit of damage can knock you out, putting you at the mercy of others?"

“And you will be a hindrance if you lack the endurance to keep up with others,” said Umaru with a frown on his face.

Ali knew exactly what Umaru was referring to. While he wasn’t exactly slow on the airship, he did find himself initially among the slowest of those who could finish the laps on the tracks. The feeling of being last was terrible and that had been a great motivation for him to push harder. The results were showing as he could steadily keep up with Kamis. One thing he realized was Kamis holding back for the sake of his group members. As he grew stronger with each passing day, Ali could sense Kamis pushing his own limits too.

Is it possible to catch up to him?

“When is the next hell grind?” asked Ali who looked forward to the day he could get stronger.

To his disappointment, the combat gym and hell grind only happened at the start of a month. Therefore, he still had to wait three full weeks before his next attempt. In the meantime, they should be focusing on the points for their groups so they too had a chance at a promotion when the opportunity arose.

“How are we doing on points?” asked Ali.

Svenne grabbed the documents he managed and looked through them. He stated that they were achieving the personal best for their group as the morning runs were really adding up. The solid performance by Ali in both climbing and swimming had also granted them points they would otherwise never hope to get. In many ways, Ali was the reason they were doing so well as a group. Due to this fact, Svenne offered to give Ali his leader position. The teenager had to refuse numerous times because he never saw himself as a leader, resulting in an impasse between the two.

I won’t be ready until I grow stronger. I know they have confidence in me but I know the consequences of a weak leader. Juraj taught me that much.

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At the thought of Juraj, Ali wondered how everyone on the airship was doing since they parted ways. He also wondered about Belen and Kurata.

They must both hate me right now after I abandoned them. Promotion won't be easy if one of the three members left without warning.

Still, Ali didn’t regret his decision. He had already grown much stronger than the pitiful shape he was in. Both he and Tian got plenty of actual experience in the combat gym and the hell grind. This was a far better alternative than running errands for Ahuru all day and night. Even if they did get promoted, his chance at duels would be so infrequent that Ali wondered why he would waste his time there.

“Ali!”

Ali snapped out of his daydream and stared at Svenne who just yelled his name. After an apology, he asked the group leader to repeat the matter. Svenne mentioned a special training that they could apply with their group points.

“Special training?”

Svenne explained that the liberation army provided certain special training from time to time. Groups had the option of using up a certain amount of points to enter. Upon completion, there was a good chance for the group to get promoted without needing to wait for the next hell grind. When the tall teenager spoke of past participation, he mentioned that only a handful joined and the failed groups saw all their members killed. He was there to see what was left of the corpses following the last special training.

Death is a possibility? I guess we have been spoiled with immortality provided during the training…

“I almost forgot! In addition to a chance at promotion, each group member is also rewarded a special consumable talisman. Those items are rare and can be worth the risk.”

Everyone in the room fell silent. While the talisman was tempting, they also had no pressure of being eliminated. If anything, they were well on their way to gathering the points. As long as they approached the hell grind with a plan, they could potentially even pass it in two months time. The special training seemed only suitable for groups that were already too good and wanted additional boosts to their power.

“Let’s worry about it as we get closer to the date,” said Svenne. “We can always sign up at the very last minute if we feel that this is worth our time.”

With all four members in agreement, they headed out of their room into the busy hallway. Once again, they vied to get a good position so they could get to their morning run. Regardless if they did the special training or not, they needed points for their promotion. Ali was looking forward to achieving a new personal best in the morning run. He knew that, if he could improve steadily each week, he might catch up to Kamis one day. As the group got close to the showers, Umaru apologized, claiming that he forgot something back in their room. Since not all group members had to be present for the morning run to begin, the other three teenagers went ahead and Svenne just had to wait for Umaru to catch up outside.

What can be so important to Umaru this early in the morning?

Ali then got into the showers, looking forward to another action-packed day.