As instructed, the entire first years gathered around the back of the Aori mansion, that is, the woods. Unlike last time, the bamboo was at full height, almost as tall as the mansion itself. They were greeted by the master who escorted Ada and Tatsu to the island. She was standing on one of the few plane areas of the sloppy descent.

“For the last two months, you have all been mastering Kre-Gia from Master Hanshon. I am sure you are all well capable and ready to move to the next subject.” She addressed them.

“Nats-Gia, or Offensive form is the hardest of them all. You will require extensive body training to become proficient enough in the next three months. I am Master Stenci, and this is my third year of teaching Nats-Gia. I’m confident that you will all master this form in no time.”

“She’s Master Cora’s younger sister.” Ada whispered to Yuri and Tatsu.

“Seriously?” Tatsu scratched her head. “Well, they do look alike.”

“This is what I have been waiting for,” Tumes laughed as he said. “No more defensive position training and workouts. Let’s get to some fighting.”

“First thing I want you to do is get on the ground and give me a hundred pushups. Then run through the entire slop twenty five times without stopping.” She instructed. Yuri and Stu laughed at Tumes, but they too were looking forward to moving on to the next subject.

“48,49,50,51…” Stu counted.

“I heard your father won the election. Congrats man.” Tatsu said.

“Yeah, thanks. 55,56,57…”

“Did he send you anything?” 048 asked, he was standing on the ground, already done with his pushups.

“Yes. A letter. 61,62,63…”

“A letter?” Yuri asked. He was following Stu’s count.

“Yeah. He said he would come visit me soon. I’m not looking forward to it.” he answered. Yuri didn’t bother to ask why.

“Come on ladies. You’re too slow!” Tumes yelled as he ran through the slopes excitedly. The entire workout took more than twenty minutes to complete, the last five minutes were mostly taken by Tatsu alone.

“Alright. You are all warmed up. Now, move a bit to the left, away from this group of bamboos.” Master Stenci signaled with her hands. “Watch me closely.”

She closed her eyes and crouched partially. Her right hand was locked on the sword. She closed her eyes and started breathing steadily. Within a few seconds, she cut through a single line of bamboo, her flight was accompanied by what could only be described as a clapping sound. She reached where they were standing.

“She flew through at least ten feet from the ground to get here.” Tumes said. “That’s so cool.”

“What I just did is a combination of Nats-Gia and enhanced speed.” Stencei told them. “You need strong legs and a strong mastery over your internal channeling to accomplish this feat.” She signaled for Yuri and Stu to move over.

“This is our first step.” She held the sword and aimed for a single branch of bamboo. She cut it clean, and the branch fell to the slope.

“If you’re using a Katana, then hold it lower, like this.” She grabbed the Katana from Stu and held it near her waist, “If you’re holding a sword, hold it higher, like this,” She demonstrated. “Cut one fifty bamboos and we’ll work on your footwork for the rest of the day. Start now.” Stencei instructed.

“ORA ORA ORA” Tumes chanted as he began cutting through the bamboo. Yuri and Stu imitated him and followed. One by one, the bamboo flooded the slope.

“This is harder than it looks,” Ada said after most of them reached over fifty bamboos.

“Focus on your form. Don’t just cut through mindlessly. Complete the action and put your entire body into it.” She corrected Ada’s form.

After they were done, she assembled them at the end of the slope. Surrounding her were eight poles with rocks attached to their ends with chains. “Position this behind your neck and shoulders and walk through the entire slope.”

“How many times?” Tumes asked Stencei.

“This entire afternoon.”

They were given a two-minute break after every three rounds of carrying the pole. Still, It wasn’t nearly enough for them to relax.

The poles were heavy as he expected. Yuri was sure that his shoulders would break after one round itself. But somehow, he kept up with the others.

“I can’t keep moving anymore.” Tatsu struggled. Her body was shaking and her legs were trembling, “I’m gonna fall.” she cried.

“Just hold on. I’ll lower it down for you.” Tumes dropped his weights and rushed to her aid. It was too late. She fell from the height. Her body tumbled down the pavement. She wailed in pain. Her cry echoed throughout the forest,

“My arm. I can see my bones!” She yelled. Yuri and the rest of them left their weights and went to her. It was true. The bone in her left arm was sticking out. It was painfully bloody and white.

“Move. I have to take care of the medic room.” Master Stencei slipped through the students and picked her up. “It’ll be fine. The rest of you, training’s not over till evening.”

Every minute felt like an hour. It took years for the evening to arrive, and when it did, none of them were able to move. Tumes decided to sleep on the ground and Ada was desperately searching for water. They had to carry themselves to the dorms that evening.

“Stu, your father is here!” one of the second years yelled from the front yard.

“What?” asked a surprised Stu.

Yuri saw him. Kar Arwt was a slender man with a stubble beard. He wasn’t as young as he looked on the papers, but still young by a mayor’s standards. He was accompanied by four men, all of them wearing white clothes except for a tall one holding a sword. They were busy talking to each other.

“Stu!” The tall man said with excitement in his voice. “How’s my favorite brother doing?”

“I’m fine, you should have called.” He told them monotonously.

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“Where’s the surprise in that?” His father asked. His voice was very rough and cold.

“These must be your friends.” Kar Arwt looked at them.

“Kar Arwt, pleasure to meet you.” He said formally.

“048, pleasure to meet you too.” 048 told him.

“Pardon?” Kar asked, confused. His men exchanged puzzled looks.

“Oh. My name is 048.” he explained. “It can be quite confusing.”

Kar Arwt laughed it off.

“Stu’s brother huh? Nice to meet you. I’m Yuri..” He introduced himself, struggling to raise her arm for a handshake.

“Pole training eh? That can be a bitch. I’m Hor Arwt.” He met his hands.

“I can’t believe my eyes, the whore is here!” Axel rushed to him with a hug.

“Axel? Oh man, It’s so nice to see you! What're you doing here?” Hor said to him.

“Excuse me. Whore?” Ada asked them. She was gulping down her water bottle.

“That’s a gift from Axel right here. Man turned my name into a laughing stock. Can’t even go around saying my name anymore.” He said, laughing uncontrollably.

“Well, It is funny, isn’t it?” Axel argued, joining in on the laughter.

“Kar Arwt.” He met Yuri’s handshake with a smile.

“Daro Yuri. Congrats on the elections.” Yuri told him.

“Why thank you! I see Stu has made a few friends. Is he still acting moody all the time?” He asked Yuri.

“Moody?” Yuri asked confusedly.

“It’s nothing. Stop embarrassing me, father.” Stu said to Kar, not meeting his eyes. “Just… call ahead next time.”

“Call ahead? I left it on the letter last week. I’m sure it reached you.” Kar said, crossing his arms. “Also, we wanted to check in on you. I’m sure Hor already misses the mansion. It must be refreshing for him.”

“Misses the mansion?” Axel stepped in. “Boy, you’re lucky to be on missions. I am stuck here for three more months, and let me tell you, I would do absolutely anything to get out of here.” He said to Hor and his father.

“Stuck here? Why? What’s going on?” asked Hor, perplexed.

“Oh. Your punishment for the mendthonel’s exorcism. I’ll see what I can do about it.” Kar offered, still putting on his smile. “After all, the council won’t ignore a mayor's request.”

“That would be great, Mr Awrt. I will do anything to make it up to you if it means leaving this hellhole.” Axel looked at Kar like he was his god. He looked like he was on the verge of tears.

“Punishment. Why wasn’t I told about this?” Hor asked, still confused.

“Well, you’re not the mayor, are you?” Kar laughed at his comment. “It’s my business to know this.”

“Well, this has been fun. We should get going soon. It’s good to see you again, Stu. Make me proud.” He messed up Stu’s hair with his hands. “It’s nice to meet you, Yuri, Ada, 048.”

“Don’t lose your head!” Hor said to him before leaving the island on the ship. The moon was coming up and the sun was touching the horizon before they reached the other side. The twilight evening marked a peaceful ending to another day.

“What about your mother? You never mentioned her to them.” 048 asked as they stared at the ship.

“She died two years ago. She was a sick woman.” Stu replied without any emotion.

“I am sorry for your loss.”

“It’s all right. She was bedridden for the last ten years. I’m sure she’s at peace now.” Stu said, wiping off a tear. “We should check up on Tatsu,” he immediately added.

“She’s resting.” Master Stencei informed them as she approached. “Her broken arm will take a few weeks to heal but with our medic’s help, she’ll be back to training in no time.”

“Thank god.” Ada said. “She’s an idiot, always trying to overexert herself. I hope she takes it easy from now on.”

Another set of familiar and groggy footsteps approached them. “No, she won’t. It’s not in her nature to get easy.” Tumes said, his eyes were weak and still sleepy.

“What do you mean?” Yuri asked, still staring at the other end of the northern woods.

“Her desire to get stronger surpasses any of us here, maybe even me. There’s no way she’s backing down after a broken arm or two. The stuff she runs on is heavy. It’s pain.” Tumes said, joining them at the end of the bridge.

“Pain?” 048 asked.

“Yes. Pain. I know when I see it.”

Yuri felt like Tumes was right. There was always something about Tatsu that intrigued him. Sure, she was loud and talkative but she was also dead serious when it came to training. Her efforts were not useless, she is physically stronger than she was a month ago, but that still made her the weakest among the first years. Yuri was sure that she would step up soon, with all the overtime she has been working.

They left for their dorms before it got too dark. The first-floor common hall was packed with second-years hanging around the couches. They were watching some porno on the television and yelling at the tv. Most of them looked pretty drunk.

“Yo. Yuri!” yelled one of his seniors and waved at him “Come over here for sec.”

And so they did, the once clean and colorful couch was now stained with chips and alcohol.

“Listen. We are leaving next month. The second and third years.” he said, chugging on his beer can.

“Leaving?” 048 asked. He didn’t bother to sit down since the couch would not hold all of them together.

“Oh yeah. We are leaving for the Cassian country tour, most of our theoretical and advanced sessions are over, and the third years are leaving for the Skullwor tournament.”

“Skullwor? What’s that?” Yuri asked.

“It’s an annual tournament for third years from all over the continent. The prize is always a rare ancient artifact. It’s incredibly difficult to be a part of.” Stu answered.

The second year gulped down on his can and tried to throw it in the trash, It was not even close. He rubbed his face with both of his arms and continued the conversation.

“Anyway, the third years are throwing this huge party and all of us are invited. It’s going to take place in the forest on the night before departing. We are going to party hard for the entire night before leaving for the next day.” He adjusted himself on the couch and threw back his head. “Are you in?”

“Do the masters know?” 048 asked.

“No, I don’t know. All I know is that there are going to be a lot of girls.” He said with a sly smile.

“We are in.” Yuri and Stu answered together.

One of the second years turned up the volume on the tv and started dancing. All they could hear were intense moaning sounds and weird-sounding music. “Come dance with us.” One of the other second years pulled all of them to the floor.

Their souls left their bodies when there was a sudden double knock on the door. They turned off the tv and hid the alcohol before opening the door.

“Oh. It’s just you.” Yuri laughed at the sight of Axel holding on to three sets of cans, two in his hands and one in his mouth.

“Here hold on to this..” He mumbled as he handed one of the can packets to Yuri.

“Where’s the music?” he asked them.

They resumed the music and continued their lewd dancing. Soon, all of their shirts were off. Yuri, Stu, and Axel sat on the couch and decided to take it slow on the beer.

“Your brother is a great guy, you know?” Axel told Stu. “We had a lot of fun in this room right here.”

“I know. He always talks about you.” Stu said. “You two practically ran this place with your pranks and shenanigans..”

“I wouldn’t put it that far. I mean, both of us were at the top of his class. Our juniors looked up to us.” Axel said. “Actually I am jealous of that bastard, he’s out there doing his missions, while I’m stuck here cleaning the floor. It’s not fair.”

“It’s just a few more months, Axel. Besides, if Stu’s father does keep his promise, you’ll be out of here in no time.” Yuri said, casually drinking his first beer.

“He is a good man, I tell you. If anyone can change this place, It’s him.” Axel closed his eyes and started to fall asleep as soon as he finished the sentence.

“We have class tomorrow.” 048 said as he stood awkwardly on the floor…