Me and Casimir went back to our room. I just laid in the bed and waited for the sun to rise.

I wonder what that noise was... It sounded far away. But I should probably stay inside of the training grounds from now on...

As the thought left my mind, so did the moon from the sky. With its departure, morning came. Which told us to get up and prepare for training.

I was still wide awake, but others, including Casimir, were groggy from just waking up. The captain seemed to be alert however, and she began to speak.

"Today marks the beginning of your free training! You are permitted to do what you will with the next two days! I will NOT check on you, so you are responsible for your own progress!" With a short reminder, the captain dismisses us to do as we please.

This was all many people needed to hear to warrant them going back to their rooms to sleep. I couldn't waste this time though.

I went up to a tree closer to the outskirts of the training grounds. It wasn't as big as the one from last night, but it was still about the size of your average pine tree, and looked to be about three feet in diameter.

I readied myself and got into a stance. Then, using a technique I had learned, I punched the tree.

I then realized what I just did. I punched a tree, bare handed, as hard as I could, and it hurt. a lot.

Gritting my teeth I began to walk around the base of the tree and looked at my hand. The skin was sheared off of my knuckles, but it quickly healed back.

It should hurt, that was the point. But it didn't mean I liked it... Doing this will help me understand my mana and fighting techniques.

Staying the course, I continued to hit the tree with every move I knew. Punches, kicks, it didn't matter. I got odd looks from people, but a few actually began to copy me. Only to quickly stop after the first punch.

After a while, I didn't even notice the pain. I just knew I had to keep doing this. The bark on the tree was worn down and torn off in places.

While attacking the tree, I could feel a tiny portion of mana lingering in my hands. But other than feeling it, I couldn't control it at all.

Racing the fleeting feeling, I continued to attack the tree. Yet, no matter how hard or fast I struck, the mana would only heal, then retreat back into my body.

With a final punch, I heard something.

*Crack*

I pulled my hand back to check to see if I had broken it, but I was fine. This was when I looked at the tree I had been attacking ruthlessly.

There were huge gashes in the wood of the tree, going all the way through the heartwood.

*Crack*

Another large crack sound, it came from the tree. It was falling...

I watched as the large tree fell backwards into the thick forest brush. I just stood there, staring in disbelief at what I managed to do.

When I took a step back and turned around to walk further into the training grounds, I saw a large crowd of people staring at me. They all looked equally shocked at what I did.

I just shied away from their gazes and jogged to the back of the main cabin. Having gotten away from the others, I just sat on the ground and leaned against the cabin's wall.

Even after that big display, I couldn't feel anything regarding my mana. I was still stuck, not knowing what to do...

The day had ended, but because it was free training, we weren't required to go back to our rooms. So a few of the trainees were outside and chatting with each other.

I went closer and saw Casimir among them. He saw me too, and waved for me to join them, so I did.

"Hey Gen! I didn't realize you were still up." Casimir said to me.

"Yeah, I just like to stay up late." I told him.

Aside from Casimir, there was one elf man with blue hair, and three demon women, sitting around a small campfire.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"What are you guys doing?" I ask them.

"We're just talking about the training we've been doing." Casimir answers. The others nod in agreement.

"Wait, aren't you the guy people have been talking about?" One of the women asks me.

"I don't know. What have they been talking about?" I ask, confused as to what she meant.

"About how you chopped down a tree by punching it, man!" Casimir exclaims.

"Oh, that... Yeah that's my bad, I didn't realize how far I was going." I explain myself to them.

"'Didn't realize'? You were hitting that thing for a few hours." The blue haired elf told me.

"Yeah you were! Other people tried to copy you but they hurt their hands pretty bad." Another one of the women said.

"Are they okay? I remember it hurt pretty bad when I first started hitting it." I ask her.

"They're fine now, I had to use my healing magic to help Ms. Octavia fix them up. But speaking of, you never went to get checked out, here let me help you." She said, before I could refuse, she had already grabbed my hand and was looking at the knuckles.

"What? You're hands look like they haven't even been touched, how is that possible?" As she said this, I pulled my hand away.

"Thanks but, yeah, It was only some scratched skin... I don't need any help." I explain my lack of injuries to them. She didn't look happy at the way things had turned out for some reason.

"Hmph~" She said, beginning to pout and return to the other women.

What's her deal?

"...Ahem... Well, what really matters is magical strength anyways, I could've had a dozen trees turned to ash before he got through that one!" The blue hair elf spoke up, a thin chain of electricity ran between his fingers.

"Then why didn't you?" Casimir asked, genuine curiosity on his face.

"Well, I- I just didn't want to, uh..." The elf responded, struggling to find the words.

Before the elf could come up with an excuse, a familiar noise sounded out through the training grounds.

It was that noise I had heard last night... Only this time... It was louder.

I could hear a deep bellowing coming from deep into the forest. It was still quiet, but I could tell everyone else heard it.

There was silence between us for a few moments before someone spoke up.

"Umm... Well, It's pretty late so I think I'm going to head to bed!" The healer girl said, immediately getting up and speed walking to the cabin.

Everyone else quickly agreed and made our way into the cabin for the rest of the night.

The next free training day was much less eventful, I had no ideas on what to do, so I just waited outside, until the day ended.

Despite thinking all day, I still had no idea on what I could be doing wrong.

With nothing else to do, I went up to the third floor room and out onto the roof.

I laid down on the roof to stare up at the night sky for what felt like hours. That was until I heard the someone open the door to the roof, when I looked over, the captain was walking over.

Sitting up I quickly greet her.

"Hello captain, sorry, am I not allowed to be up here?" I ask her.

"No don't worry, be as you were." She tells me. I relax and continue sitting.

"Why are you up here though? I've seen what you've been doing the past few days, and I must admit... It's impressive. Even among the other promising trainees." She asks me. I've been wondering the same thing...

"Captain... Even after training for nearly a week now, I'm still no closer to figuring out how to control my mana..." I dejectedly told her.

"I just... I don't think I'm able to... I don't think I was made for all of this..." I continued. She had a sad and serious look on her face, and sat down next to me.

"No one is... No one's made to fight, or to be some vessel for magic. No one is asked to be made in some way or the other. We're all just... Victims of circumstance." She said.

"Victims of a circumstance that forms us into what is needed at the time. For some, it's a merchant or an everyday worker. For others... We aren't so lucky..."

"We were blessed and cursed with something... The ability and drive to help. It's what paves the way for us to become what we're supposed to be."

"It's tough, thankless, and often ends quickly, and with teary eyes." After saying this she gets up.

"But... that's why we do it. Because if it wasn't us, it'd be all the innocent people of the places we protect... Come, look at this." She motioned for me to follow her to the edge of the roof, so I got up and went over, when I got there, I saw all of the trainees, talking, laughing, and even tirelessly training with one another.

"Look out there, those are the people, along with you, who make a difference when it matters. They all know the kind of work they're getting into, but that doesn't stop them. It only pushes them further than before." She told me.

"But regardless of that, there's something they all have in common... They can't do it alone. That's why we're here, we eat, sleep, and train together. I shouldn't say this as a captain, but it doesn't matter if they're strong or not. All that matters here, is that they trust each other. If they can't do that, then we'll all fall, one by one." After she said this, she began to walk back inside, my eyes were still focused on the people down below. But before she went inside, she said one last thing.

"If I had to tell you one thing... You can't expect yourself to do everything. So, trust others to pick up the slack when you can't carry it all on your own." With that, she left, and I was left staring down, pitying myself.

I didn't realize it before. But... She was right. Ever since leaving that elf village, I've been reluctant to ask others for help. It just feels like... I had to do it all. Like... I owed it to someone.

I owed it to Kulvit...

After everything that happened there, I couldn't risk asking others to help, if I did, then I'd be putting them where Kulvit stood, and...

"I don't know if I can save them..." As I said this, I felt a tear roll down my cheek.

I'd been scared. Scared of what might happen, so I avoided situations where I'd have to find out. But I don't have to worry about something like that.

Over time, I've found people who I can trust, and they trust in me. I wasn't alone, to do it all myself.

But... I still had a promise to keep.

Katsuro...

He wouldn't have died in that village, even with those injuries. He was still out there, he had to be.

...And I plan on finding him, and fulfilling what I promised him.

But I had to be ready, and with the help of everyone else... I will be.

Tomorrow's the start of the tournament. So I should be ready to show off what I've learned so far.

With that, my mind was set, and I had a goal. I made my way to my room to wait away the rest of the night.