'Now on to the other things mentioned earlier.

Vitality is a coarse measure of how much pain someone can endure before they go numb or pass out. While this is paramount for shieldbearers as allowing something to break your guard means death, it doesn't mean that you can survive anything. An arrow through the eye is death regardless of how hard you train, so fighting when outnumbered is extremely deadly, and outnumbering your foes makes it that much more likely you can prevail without losses. As a general rule of thumb, if your forces are three times the size of a comparable enemy type and you have them surrounded, you have already won by default, and the only question is how many people you lose. Conversely, if you have forces a third as large as the enemy, you're in a fatal situation, and if retreat is an option at all, you must take it. If not, you must force enemies into a choke point to deny them the advantage of numbers.

Strength is a measure of how much you can lift, how hard you can hit something, and how strongly you can draw a bow. Only strong archers can use recurve bows well, and this is also built with training in the same way that vitality is, but there are base differences between people. Some people build muscle mass much faster than others with the same amount of effort, and one of the largest differences here is your sex, so you will find most recurve archers and blunt weapon users to be male. Some men however find it equally as difficult to build muscle mass as women do, and this is not something you can easily overcome. I would advise you use a fighting style that requires less brute force should you not be as blessed as others in the lottery of birth.

Precision indicates how consistently you can hit the same spot with the weapons you use. While brute force requires less precision than using finesse weapons like daggers or ranged weapons like bows, someone who can't even consistently swing at the same spot cannot be allowed to hold any weapon at all lest one hits one's own allies in the attempt. If your hand-eye coordination is bad and you have no talent with magic, you go home, without exception.

Perception is a measure of how well you can notice both minute changes in the environment over time, as well as things that are out of the ordinary. Anyone who failed to notice Joshua's hair blowing the wind earlier is bad at it, but whether you understand what it means is a different question from whether you noticed it at all. People with poor senses cannot take scouting roles, but they can still serve in the vanguard with others available to cover their weaknesses. This is why I have not sent anyone home yet.

Stamina is a measure of how long you can last before passing out, and is important both for fighters as well as mages. Similarly, anyone who cannot endure ten hours of moderate training will be sent home after the test period, because if you pass out in the battlefield before combat is resolved, you present an additional liability for your comrades, and you can serve the country far better as a civilian.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Finally, composure is a measure of how well you can cope emotionally with sudden shocks, provocations, and fear. Anyone who cannot maintain focus and calmness in an extreme situation will be sent home. We don't want to give our enemies free weapons to kill the rest of us with. If you see your friend die and you lose your cool, you will die. If you lose an arm and turn your back to the enemy, you will lose your head next. If you cannot decide on the spot to fight to the death to protect the people behind you, you will die anyway, but so will the people you were meant to protect.

It would be extremely convenient if we were able to find out what each of you is good at through a shorter method, but the only means we have is assessment over time. You will be trained over the next few days in various things like basic physical exercises, basic weapon drills, and basic magical practice, and each instructor has the responsibility of assessing how long you will live as an Adventurer. If your estimated potential falls short of a goblin, you go home, but we're talking about potential here. If a band of goblins were to attack now, even if armed with only wooden weapons, more than half of you are likely to die in single combat as you lack both training and experience compared to them. The Adventurer grade system was created to make sure you have enough experience with death under your belt before you face something with an even chance of sending you to your grave.

You may think that we're scaring you here, but in most other countries, nine out of ten adventurers die before they finish a single year, and some in ways so gruesome they would have killed themselves if they were permitted the chance to. Can I have a show of fingers as to how many you think die within a year among our graduates?'

We get better training here and are more likely to face threats weaker than us after graduation due to their grading system right? One, maybe?

'The average number the class is showing seems to be two. Kid, I believe you've earned the right to introduce yourself between your answers earlier and now, even if it was someone else that gave you the information in advance.'

Oh, it's the smug kid.

'Morgan Sheldon, Instructor Gwyn. It's the duty of nobility to defend our people, so we received as much preparation as we could before enrolment.'

'I won't enquire as to the circumstances why you ended up here instead of the capital, but if you had already known that and are still willing to die for your people, so be it. Morgan is correct that only half of all graduates live past their first year. So for everyone here, think of it as a mercy if we send you home, because if we don't, the only purpose of the remaining months of your life will be to serve as an warning to others.'