Samael silently lurked in the shadows, observing in silence as he laid eyes on the cadets laying on the ground.

This has been the scene for the last four days now. But how did this occur? It started when Samael revealed the news of Ajax's slowed advance. That news ignited the flames of revenge behind the eyes of every single warrior on this plain.

It was like an unquenchable thirst, torturing them. The cadets attitude took a massive turn. Fortunately, it was not a bad change.

With their will to join the battle once more, the trainees wasted no time idling around. They themselves took the liberty of requesting a much harder schedule.

Of course, as the mentor, Samael couldn't be more pleased. So he did as they wanted.

Samael edited their training regime to half of what he used to do under Ajax's guidance.

He shortened and lessened their breaks, took away their leisure times, and intensified their training even further.

However, the changes in their attitudes also helped with their absurd growth.

It seemed that in the few days of hardship they've been through, a bond was developed under the same banner of avenging their fallen brothers and sisters.

Those who were slow cannot be considered lacking anymore. The stronger and more talented cadets guided them and aided them as much as Samael did.

Within those four days, the trainees have become even more proficient with their camouflage skills and have garnered survival knowledge in the mass.

Aside from that, they also leaped massively, as all of them are in the limitations phase now, which explains why they're laying on the ground exhausted. If it weren't for the shallow movements of their chests, one would think they're corpses.

Training for limitations is the hardest part of hiding your essence, as it requires you to release said elemental energy and adjust it to specific intensities.

This drains your power fast, especially if you don't possess that much essence.

It has been nearly a month since they started their training outside the walls of the Stellaris camp. Samael could feel the rising tension in the air. It was only a matter of time before the imgrave wolves found a way to bypass their defense. After all, no matter how strong Ajax is, he can't handle everything.

But it won't be long on their side either. Samael can sense it. The cadets were soon to learn the art of stealth, and they would advance to the last part of their training.

Now he must not waste any more time.

Samael leaped off the branch, landing silently on the decaying earth as he strode forward.

***

"YES!"

"WOHOOO!"

"I'VE DONE IT! I'VE FUCKING DONE IT!"

Roars and cheers emanated in the forest as the cadets celebrated their success. It has been five days of harrowing training and endless fatigue. But they've done it.

With Samael's guide along the way, the cadets have finally learned how to limit their essence diffusion, thus graduating from the stealth training.

Once one of them managed to breakthrough, the others followed like rain falling from the sky.

It started with Yuin, then Ramon, and chained down to the last member of the squad.

It was to be expected, as Samael had already hand-fed every piece of information he had in his arsenal. He barely had any time to train himself as he kept shooting one advice after the other.

He was there whenever they were met with an obstacle and was always available even when he's training himself.

Samael allowed the group to celebrate for one whole day. Because tomorrow, hell was about to dawn upon them.

The cadets ate and drank to their hearts content, savoring the taste of freedom they couldn't have during their training.

They sang, danced and partied like there was no tommorow. It was a celebration worthy of praise.

But to Samael's surprise, their celebration ended quite fast as they swiftly approached him to begin his next lesson before night fell.

So he delivered.

"The last part of your training is observation and navigation," Samael said.

Silence engulfed the crowd as anticipation bloomed in their hearts. This was it. They were nearing the end of their scouting journey. It was not far before they joined the battle once more.

"Observation isn't by any means hard. You've all already trained it with your stealth training, but now you must hone it to be able to remember and take as much information in short windows of time," Samael uttered before taking a brief pause.

"Navigation, on the other hand, is far harder. Due to time constraints, I can only teach you one thing: adaptation," Samael resumed.

"Shall we begin?" Samael asked with a sinister smile.

Observation training wasn't too hard or time-consuming. Samael just had to play a game of speed wherein he will reveal specific hand-drawn scenarios with time windows starting in 30 seconds and dialing down as they go further.

The cadets will have to take in as much information as possible before coming up with a response. Response, which will vary greatly as each scenario is different.

This is where Samael will not only hone their observation abilities but also their decision-making skills.

As for navigation, Samael will subject the trainees to different harsh conditions, ranging from crawling through mud to crawling through tight underground tunnels.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

He'll shock them enough so that they'll be forced to adapt or suffer even more. It was their choice.

"Begin," Samael said as he unfolded a neatly drawn scenario. It was a chaotic battlefield with knights, watchers, and soldiers fighting tooth and bone. Their enemies were imgrave wolves in a barren landscape engulfed in chaos.

"5...4...3...2...1... End," Samael said before folding it close.

The cadets fell silent in contemplation when Samael started to question them.

"Imgrave wolves launched an attack in Stellaris camp. A usual raid," a woman answered.

"Wrong," Samael replied.

"The Stellaris camp launched an attack on one of the imgrave wolf lairs, seeing as there are a lot of imgrave wolves present," a man said.

"Wrong as well," Samael replied, his gaze darting over the group.

"Anyone else?" he asked. But none answered.

"The situation is as follows: the warriors were venturing in the forest when they were ambushed by imgrave wolves. How? There was no camp present, but only the warriors fighting in a destroyed landscape," Samael pointed out.

"Not to mention, their ranks were scattered. This was not a coordinated attack. In observation, details matter," Samael reminded the cadets.

The trainees nodded in unison as Samael showed another scenario. This time, it was a sight of yet another fight where one side was the warriors and the other was the imgrave wolves. In the surroundings, mountains of corpses littered the plains, along with fireballs igniting the sky.

Samael counted down the seconds before closing the paper again.

"What are your conclusions?" he asked.

Yuin raised his hand with haste, startling his companions.

"Judging by our information, it was a siege. I arrived at this conclusion because the warriors were in a tight formation, clearly facing the opposition. Not to mention, the fireballs in the sky are a clear sign of siege weapons," Yuin explained.

"Oh, why do you think that?" Samael asked.

"While echoes can in fact cast fireballs of that size, Stellaris camp does not possess enough fire echoes to fire that many. We also have a ton of fire catapults gathering dust in the base," Yuin explained.

Samael remained silent for a while, his empty eyes tearing a hole through the cadets, until...

"Good, you got it right," Samael briefly said.

The whole squad exhaled in unison as they wiped the sweat off their foreheads.

"Let's proceed," Samael said.

Their days were like this now. The trainees were given time to practice their stealth abilities in the morning and observation skills in the afternoon. But as the night stains the skies dark, they're subjected to all forms of gruesome environments.

"Fuck...!" A female knight cussed in frenzy, tears staining the edges of her eyes as she struggled to raise her head.

They were currently squeezing through a tight tunnel with dirty mud water reaching up to their chins. This restricted them from lowering or resting their heads and also added to their fear of drowning in their veins.

"You can do this, push!" A man roared as he crawled forward, veins bulging out.

The woman took multiple sharp breaths before her grunts echoed in the tight passage along with the splashing of water.

It was dark, moist, and jagged. It was hell.

On the other hand, a few cadets were slowed greatly as the dark, tight pathway had some traps set in, such as sudden deep waterholes enough to submerge their entire heads or sudden water sprouts stemming off the walls.

Nonetheless, they pushed on, braving their fears and fatigue as they slowly came out one by one from the hellish trial grounds. Covered in mud and trembling in their boots.

Unfortunately, not everyone had the guts to continue, as some fell unconscious due to fatigue and shock.

A sigh escaped Samael's lips before he dragged their unconscious bodies out of the tunnel and slapped them in the cheeks to wake them up.

The fallen cadets burst up in confusion, their faces stained brown under all the mud and earth.

"Rest; tomorrow we try again," Samael said before blending with the darkness.

Another night has ended and another failure.

In the afternoon the next day, the cadets did another observation training, but the difficulty was notched up.

Samael did the trials in a more dark environment, forcing them to try harder to see the images given before them.

"5...4...3...2...1," Samael counted down before shutting the canvas.

The cadets fell silent as gears clocked behind their pupils. They were given a scenario where they're left in the middle of a forest infested with Imgrave wolves. They only had their weapons and basic gear, such as matchsticks, food, water, etc.

"Answers?" Samael asked.

"Cover your scent and hide until reinforcement comes," a man asked, but Samael wagged his head in response.

"Camouflage and leave the place, paying careful attention to keeping yourself hidden at all times," a woman asked.

"Wrong. While it may work in normal circumstances, the image showed the lack of tools to do the job," Samael pointed out.

"Perhaps... strength is not always the approach—or at least not literally," a woman named Ashley said.

"Continue," Samael beckoned.

"Maybe we can use the decaying wood and our weapons to strip the dried barks and ignite them using our matches. That way, we can start a fire, which imgrave wolves are highly sensitive to due to their nature, which is to use the darkness," Ashley mentioned.

"Go on," Samael urged.

"In the midst of confusion, we can use it as a diversion and quietly slip out. Not to mention, the smell of ash will hide our scent," she resumed.

A small smile made its way to Samael's visage. "Good," he praised.

Ashley grinned in success as she punched the air a couple times.

As the night sky descended upon them again, they were subjected to another terrain shift.

This time, it was a foggy landscape. A fog so thick they can barely see each other. Much less move around.

Their goal was to find the flag set up by Samael. They were also given a specific time period.

As the time started, the cadets flew in all directions, showcasing the amount of power they'd slowly accumulated.

With their newfound knowledge, they all started their hunt differently. Some decided to look for tracks, while others decided to take advantage of vantage points such as high grounds.

As the time went on, the trainees started feeling miserable. But they kept pushing on.

Unfortunately, they failed, as the fog was blown away by Samael, signaling the end of their trial.

"Rest for the night," Samael said once more, signalling yet another failure.

This cycle went on again and again and again. A never-ending circle of failure and disappointment.

But the future scouts kept trying. They've gone too far to surrender now. They've poured their blood, sweat, and tears into their training. They couldn't give up now.

On the 12th day of their navigation trials, Samael felt a change in the wind. It was subtle, but it was there.

Perhaps today is the day they succeed... He thought.

The cadets stood in line, their gazes sharp and focused. They were completely different from the first day they arrived here. Now, they possessed the aura of scouts. They just had to finish the training.

"Are you all prepared?" Samael asked.

"SIR, YES, SIR," they roared in unison.

"Then begin," Samael said before his figure vanished into a blur.

The trial was set in a maze-like landscape where they must escape within a short time period. Not only that, but there was the prevalent fog blocking their way.

But they strode forward with confidence they had built over time. They could feel it. Today was the day.

The cadets slowly traced their way through the dense fog, checking for every little detail, track, and even fingerprint.

They kept their senses alert, watching out for the traps Samael set around.

They were faced with dead ends every now and then, but their dedication remained steadfast.

Right now, they all had one thought in mind.

"Just a little more."

As the time went on, tension rose through the air. The atmosphere felt sharp as a finely honed blade as Samael remained idle at the end of the maze, a clock nesting in his hand.

"1 minute left," Samael muttered.

The cadets swiftly moved through the corridors, ignoring all the dirt piling through their shoes and marring their faces.

Some utilized their elements, such as how Yuin used his sound element to send shockwaves through the passageways.

Samael shifted his gaze to his clock once more.

10 seconds... 9... 8...

The cadets clenched their jaws, their eyes darting back and forth, absorbing as much knowledge as possible and making decisions in split seconds.

6... 5... 4...

The long, narrow corridors passed through their gazes with haste, barely registering in their minds as they hungered for the exit.

3... 2...

An exit within their reach.

1..—

Samael's thoughts halted as multiple figures formed through the thinning fog, revealing the tired trainees he'd been raising for the last few weeks of his stay.

They were battered, dirty, and tired. But they all wore the same smiles on their faces. A smile of victory.

They have won.

"Congratulations. Your navigation trial is over," Samael said with a small smile on his face.

The cadets all fell silent before bursting into loud cheers. All the fatigue and frustration they felt were washed away by the sweet taste of success.

"Eat, rest, and celebrate," Samael said, further increasing the cheers of the trainees.

They were finally nearing the end.