One week and a half

One week and a half passed since Ares arrived at the break room of those two guards. He was diligent about not pushing himself hard, so he could rest properly. Anyway, he didn't think that it would be so difficult.

'Not doing any physical exercises is making me get stressed. I want to punch someone in the face right now. I don't know how I could hold myself for so long...', he himself was surprised for being so obedient.

'Well, I hate losing, after all. I know that I have a lot of disadvantages when compared to the other people that will compete against me, so I need to cover these disadvantages as much as I can. If I cannot pass on this test, it will mean the end of the first part of my plan to get stronger.

'Of course, I won't come back to Jasmine even if I lose here. I don't have any intention to fulfill the promise that I made to those two idiots. However, I will still need to find somewhere else to train until I can enroll myself in Chronos Academy.'

Ares decided not to think about that matter too deeply, though. If he did, he would be admitting his defeat, and that was something that his pride wouldn't allow him to do. The first goal was to reach Stokil Fortress and train there, so he would do it no matter what.

'I need to focus only on winning now. I know that it is good to have a plan B, but losing isn't an option here at all. If I keep being stopped whenever I am trying to achieve something, I won't ever be able to consider myself as a Beast Hunter!'

After doing his morning stretch and light warming-up, Ares went to the bed and sat cross-legged on the mattress.

His father taught him how to meditate before. He always said that it was a good thing to do since Ares was so short-tempered and impatient. The boy never liked to meditate. Actually, that could be considered the worst part of his routine, but he knew that it was necessary.

He needed to meditate a lot back in Jasmine when he was trying to develop his thought process and think faster than the average fighter. If he stopped to meditate, at least, one time per day, he knew that his mind would lose that sharpness that he struggled to acquire.

Ares didn't know how much time he spend meditating on that day, but after he began to do so, someone knocked on the door.

'Hmm? They are knocking on the door? Not even Giovani, who is quite polite, resorts to this kind of thing when entering this room...'

Ares left the bed and walked towards the door. On the way, he took a knife that was on top of the table, stuck in a piece of cheese. The boy slowly opened the door and looked at who was on the other side. Even on occasions like that, he preferred to be cautious.

"What are you doing here?" He asked while tightening the grip on his knife when seeing an unfamiliar figure standing in front of the door.

"I am here to deliver something for you, Ares. The Colonel of the First Division sent me here."

'Giovani and that bulked fool also said something about this Colonel guy... He might be saying the truth, but...'

"You can leave it in front of the door and leave. Thanks," as soon as he thanked him, he closed the door and locked it, walking back to the bed.

Nonetheless, a shout made him stop to walk and turn to the door right away.

"But I need to advise about your exam. Also, you will leave this room and go to the Dormitory of the trainees. I am sorry, but orders are orders and I cannot leave this place until you hear me and take the package that is on my hands," that man had a robotic voice when saying so, almost as if he decored all that phrase. His tone of voice was strong and imposing as well, that of a true soldier.

Ares pondered for a while about that matter and concluded that he was truly someone sent by the Colonel. After all, just Giovani and Donovan knew about his decision to participate in the exam and told it directly to the Colonel.

'Donovan and Giovani said to me to be extra careful when opening the door to someone. I don't know why, to be honest, but I found it better to prevent being careless, so nothing would happen to me.'

It was strange that, even inside a fortress that should be highly protected and organized, Ares needed to be so cautious, but it was an issue to solve later.

Ares opened the door to the man, who was wearing light iron armor and had a sword sheathed on his waist. His helmet was resting beside the door.

"Nice to meet you. I am Isaac, Guardian of the yellow rank, and the person that will guide you to the dormitories," he stretched his hand, and Ares squeezed while also saying his name.

The man delivered a package to Ares, which got opened right away.

Inside the package was a raw white uniform. It was made from flax and a bit of cotton. The material itself was very resistant and wouldn't tear off easily. Parts like the shoulders, elbows, knees, chest, and groin were covered with a thick layer of leather, which would absorb a great part of the damage.

"This is your uniform of a trainee. You should use it in your training sections, usually, but since you are a special case and won't have any training during the rest of the week, you will only wear it on the day of the exam," the man explained with an indifferent expression.

"Also... they told me to give it to you...", he left the room for a while, then returned with Ares' battle-axe in his hands.

Ares solemnly took the axe again as if receiving a treasure.

'Good! I finally took you back, buddy!'