Training

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the unfamiliar sight of the lower part of the iron bed.

Every part of my body ached terribly. I wanted nothing more than to continue lying on the uncomfortable bed.

But I knew that was foolish. This was our first combat lesson at the academy, and skipping classes resulted in a deduction of points—points I didn't even have. That would make me the poorest student.

"Ugh, my back."

Hearing Darun's groaning from the bed above mine brought me some satisfaction as I reluctantly left my bed.

"Hey, Sol, it seems spending the entire day wandering around the academy wasn't a good idea."

Upon hearing this, I chuckled lightly while beginning some stretching exercises to loosen my muscles.

"I told you, wouldn't it have been better if we had spent our time training instead of wasting it wandering around?"

"Sigh."

"Man, what's the point of training? We're ranked last in the first year, and to make things worse, we're in a class with seven of the top ten students."

"Besides, even if we spent all our time training, the amount of strength we'd gain after a month of continuous training could be gained by one of those nobles with a single mana potion."

Hearing this, I reached out to pull Darun down from his bed.

Thud.

Suddenly, Darun's body crashed to the ground. He had pale white skin, orange hair, and brown eyes.

But the look in his eyes was anything but kind—he glared at me angrily.

"What are you doing? Are you insane? You could have let me rest a little longer."

I didn't even bother responding. Even though I had only met him yesterday, I could confidently say I knew a lot about Darun's personality, so I was sure he wouldn't really be upset about this.

Instead, I ignored him and started walking between the neatly arranged beds, heading toward one of the bathrooms.

The place we slept in was a dormitory for soldiers.

It was a massive room with rows of iron bunk beds.

There were no decorations—just neatly arranged iron beds.

The room could accommodate about a hundred students, yet due to its sheer size, it didn't feel crowded.

…

Upon exiting the bathroom, Sol saw a group of ten students forming a line in front of the door.

But one student wasn't standing there to enter the bathroom.

Darun had already showered and changed into his uniform.

Seeing Darun waiting for him, Sol smiled and started heading out of the dormitory with Darun, following tu toward their destination.

As we walked through the academy's hallways toward the combat arts class, Darun started complaining again.

"Damn this lousy academy. They said it was better than training camps, but from what I see, this place is just a bigger training camp."

"The academy is responsible for training you, not spoiling you. They're not obligated to waste money building huge, comfortable rooms when they could spend it on training equipment."

Hearing my response, Darun turned to me angrily and said,

"Are you saying this after they put you in last place, with the possibility of being expelled in the first weekly exam?"

Hearing this, I replied with a blank expression.

"Being in last place is because of my weakness, not the academy's fault. And even if I get expelled, that just means I'm either not talented or didn't work hard enough to stay."

Darun sighed in resignation and said,

"Tsk. You're so boring. If it weren't for the fact that everyone avoids me for being the second weakest student in the first year, I wouldn't have befriended you."

After saying this, Darun's scowl disappeared, replaced by a playful expression.

"Now, let's discuss the serious stuff. What do you think of the girls in our class? Who do you think is the prettiest?"

Seeing Darun's sudden change in attitude, I could only smile weakly.

After a while, we finally arrived at the location of our combat arts class—a large arena capable of accommodating hundreds of students.

A group of students had already gathered in the center of the arena around the combat arts instructor.

The instructor wore the black uniform of the Union Army, with short black hair and abyss-like black eyes.

She stood in the middle of the arena with a cold, statue-like expression, not moving an inch.

Seeing the instructor standing still like a statue, Darun whispered to me quietly,

"I think we need to wait for the others."

Hearing Darun, I nodded, as it was obvious the instructor was waiting for the rest of the students to arrive.

Finally, after all the students had arrived, the statue-like instructor began to move.

She looked at us with an emotionless gaze and introduced herself.

Her voice was as cold as a glacial river in Russia and devoid of any emotion, like a robot.

"First, let me introduce myself. I am Kassandra Wolfblood, and I will be your combat arts instructor."

"Since this is your first class, we will postpone learning combat arts and focus on getting to know you and understanding your fighting styles to determine the suitable mana technique for each of you."

"For that, you must acquire appropriate weapons."

Upon saying this, hundreds of different weapons appeared behind Kassandra, ranging from common swords to strange, unfamiliar weapons like glaives.

Kassandra continued in her cold voice,

"Simply point at the weapon you wish to use, and it will be yours."

Upon hearing this, most students looked confused, unsure of what to do, but they still pointed at the weapon they chose.

Including me—I chose a longsword, and similarly, Darun chose a longsword as well.

However, as I observed the weapons chosen by the other students, one choice stood out to me.

Alexander had chosen a giant sword, two meters long and ridiculously wide, making it look more like a chunk of sharp metal than an actual sword.

While I was immersed in observing the students' choices, a loud clap brought everyone's attention back to Kassandra, who still stood in the middle of the arena, though the collection of weapons behind her had vanished.

"And now, after everyone has received their weapons, let's move on to the question segment to gain a deeper understanding of your personalities."

"The most important thing in battle is not the weapon—it's the one who wields it."

Upon saying this, Kassandra pointed at Alexander and asked him,

"In your opinion, what is the most important factor in winning a battle?"

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I couldn't post for a few days due to some circumstances, but I'm back now, and we'll resume daily posts!