Under the expert guidance of Teacher Lee, the classroom atmosphere was unexpectedly comfortable yet undeniably tense. Ari found that Teacher Lee was a war veteran, in the process of transitioning back into civilian life. Despite his best efforts, Teacher Lee's lingering battle instincts seemed to permeate the classroom, creating an underlying sense of unease.

Ari, who still struggled with weapon proficiency compared to his peers, found himself the recipient of special attention from Teacher Lee during class sessions. This personalized instruction, while challenging, ultimately proved invaluable in helping Ari improve his skills and confidence in handling weapons.

"Swing your sword with confidence!"

"Don't just use your hands. use both your shoulders and body as well when swinging the sword!"

"Don't just rely on your hands, use your shoulders and body to control the shield!"

"You've gotten much better. Now relax your body, don't let it get too stiff as it will hinder your response."

In just a few hours of the class, Ari has received valuable feedback from Master Lee, which has greatly helped him. He is confident that with practice, he will be able to master the basic techniques more easily.

The class concluded at six in the evening, allowing the cadets to freshen up in their rooms before heading to the dining hall for dinner. Following the meal, Ari went back to his room to review his Technique Book, ensuring that he could apply the newly learned material to the upcoming basic techniques.

*****

The following day, Ari and the cadets made their way back to Teacher Joe's classroom. Gone were the threats from the previous day, replaced instead by the sight of Teacher Joe preparing his formidable hammer. Without hesitation, the cadets dispersed in all directions, showing no concern for their fellow classmates or where they were headed.

The morning exercise dragged on for hours, yielding similar results to the previous day's session. Ari found himself collapsing once again, this time from a powerful blow to the back of his head and right thigh delivered by Teacher Joe's hammer. Despite the pain, Ari's body remained intact, albeit crumpled and bruised.

After receiving treatment from the healers, who appeared more distressed than the day before, Ari made his way to the dining hall for lunch. Alma and Leon accompanied Ari at this lunch, this time with faces that looked even more glum than yesterday.

"How does it feel to get hit by Teacher Joe's hammer?"

"I don't understand how you regained consciousness so quickly Ari.

That Teacher Joe really wants to kill us. "

"Stop complaining Alma, you only got a minor fracture.

Can you imagine how it feels when three of your ribs are crushed at the same time? "

"I already felt that Leon. Twice. "

"Shut up Ari."

Ari just snorted in amusement at Leon's expression which looked hurt for failing to dramatize his injury. The three of them quickly finished their lunch and went straight to the next class.

After finishing lunch, the cadets proceeded to math class. Ari had wondered to himself why knights needed to study math, which the instructor answered shortly after.

"If you ask why knights need to study math, the answer is very simple.

Because in all battles, math will help you as much as your strong muscles. "

"Are you trying to cut people's heads off? Calculate the right angle and your muscles will work lighter for better results.

Do you want to crush a leg? Calculate the direction of your war hammer and the leg will be crushed more easily. "

"Math will be one of your weapons that the enemy will not be able to take away. Trust me. "

*****

Math class ended a few hours later, giving Ari a headache from too much math.

After completing their math class, Ari and the cadets proceeded to their Gymnastics class. The session took place in the training room, the very same room where Ari had previously practiced sword and shield techniques.

Leading the class was Teacher Putree, a slender woman with a strikingly beautiful face. Ari initially doubted Teacher Putree's ability to effectively instruct them in Gymnastics, thinking that her shape wouldn't be able to support her task.

"Welcome cadets.

My name is Putree and today you will be training with me to develop your physique."

"You need to know that I am not like Teacher Joe.

His target in his class is to shape your mental and survival skills while developing your stamina."

"In my class, what you need to do is to train your body and develop your muscles.

followed by improving your flexibility and finished with learning to develop your dexterity."

"Let's get started, please divide yourselves into groups.

The group that wants to start with muscle development exercises please approach me, while other groups can use other training tools and be guided by other teachers."

Ari looked around and found that there were several other teachers besides Teacher Putree. most of them were male but there were also female teachers there. meanwhile, Ari decided to start today's training with muscle development exercises which was one of his best points. strong muscles had almost always been his pride even since he was still in his village.

Ari and a few other cadets approached Teacher Putree, who was watching them with a very sweet smile. Teacher Putree's smile was so sweet that it made the male cadets blush to see it, including Ari.

"Alright, cadets.

For your first exercise, let's start with light weights first."

Teacher Putree then arranged some iron wheels on a two-meter-long stick that was also made of iron. The iron wheels were arranged on the right and left ends of the iron stick, where the cadets would try to lift the iron stick from the middle side.

"Alright, I think it's still light enough.

You can try it immediately."

Boomm!

Master Putree said that while lifting the iron rod. Ari could see that Teacher Putree with her straightforward and fragile-looking body could lift the iron rod very easily, even requiring only one hand.

Ari's opinion changed when he saw Teacher Putree drop the weighted iron rod out of her hand. It fell to the floor with a loud thud and left cracks on the floor, indicating that the iron rod was much heavier than he thought.

After a brief demonstration from Teacher Putree, it was now the cadets' turn to try it out. Ari took the first turn to try to lift the iron rod. Ari tried to mimic what Master Putree did, trying to lift the iron rod with one hand. As Ari had already expected, the iron rod did not move at all from the floor. Ari refused to give up and tried again, this time using both hands to lift the iron rod.

HHHRRRRGGG!!!

BOOOMM!

Ari only managed to lift the iron rod for one second, and even then only one to two centimeters off the floor. Ari felt like a failure and started to doubt his own physical strength, but then Master Putree clapped his hands with a big smile.

"Excellent cadet!

I didn't think there would be a cadet strong enough to lift that weight even just a few centimeters.

I think you have potential."

Those kind words from Master Putree, along with her beautiful smile and the trust she placed in Ari, made Ari see the day as much brighter than usual. Even after Ari shifted to make room for the other cadets to try lifting Master Putree's iron rod and focus on more sensible weightlifting exercises, Ari could still see Master Putree's beautiful smile in his mind's eye.

'What a beautiful smile.

*****

Gymnastic class continues into the afternoon.

in addition to weightlifting exercises, Ari also has to participate in flexibility and dexterity exercises. unlike muscle training where Ari has fewer problems and tends to be able to do it easily, flexibility and dexterity exercises are a different topic.

in flexibility training, Ari was forced by the teacher to bend his body into unreasonable shapes. at least, unreasonable for Ari.

"Don't stop cadet! Keep bending your body!"

"aaarrghhh!! I give up teacher!!!"

"There's no giving up! BEND YOUR BODY!"

"aaaarrghhhh!!!"

Ari's training was even more painful because while Ari was wailing in pain from pushing himself, he could see Leon who was busy doing very complicated and fast dance moves. Leon glanced at Ari and gave Ari a playful mocking look, which made Ari become annoyed at his friend's dance moves.

after the flexibility training that was very torturous, both mentally and physically, Ari proceeded to dexterity training with a sore body.

In dexterity training, Ari was asked to play with a wooden dagger in his right hand, making it rotate with only finger and wrist movements. at the same time, Ari's left hand was required to perform a punching motion using a wide weight with a shape similar to a shield.

"Do the movement perfectly!

The right hand must not follow the left hand, and vice versa!"

"Yes, teacher!"

hup! hup! hup!

PAK!

"WRONG! Repeat one more time!"

hup! hup! hup!

PAK!

"WRONG! Do it again!"

"Keep up, man. That move wasn't hard at all."

Ari looked over to see Alma and felt like punching on his big head. Alma was busy practicing dexterity at a level that Ari found incomprehensible.

Alma's right hand seemed to be spinning three knives, using only his fingers and wrists. while his left hand made a punching motion while spinning a coin between his fingers. As if those two hands weren't enough to make him dizzy, Alma continued to chat with a cadet while playing a ball at his feet, which nimbly rolled here and there without once losing control.

"Don't be so upset, doing many things at once is a trader's habit. hahaha"

It was fortunate that Ari was still able to complete all of his training rather quickly, at a level that the instructor deemed sufficient for the day. Ari then rushed over to the muscle training area to watch his two friends who were pushing themselves to lift some pretty heavy weights.

"Your faces look so happy lifting those weights, want me to help you add a few more pieces?"

"SHUT UP YOU FAT BASTARDS!"

Both of them shouted at the same time with annoyance, coupled with Ari who laughed out loud at their response, making the three of them the center of attention at the end of Gymnastics class.

****

At dinner time, Ari and his two friends ate heartily with no regard for their surroundings. all three of them felt very hungry, especially after they had done some pretty heavy physical training.

For the rest of the days that week, Ari spent his time attending all the classes as best he could, and felt a lot of improvement from the training he had undergone.

In training with Teacher Joe, Ari managed to survive three punches before collapsing from the pain and broken bones.

in training with Teacher Lee, Ari began to do all the basic moves taught quite well.

in training with Master Putree, Ari is still only able to lift the heaviest weight for one second. but now Ari can put the weight down gently, rather than just letting go.

Ari has also started to get used to bending his body a little longer, although he still has some pain while doing so. Ari's hands have also started to become a little more agile in playing with the wooden knife and hitting at the same time.

At the end of the week, Ari and the other cadets were taken to a room for their first status check since joining the academy.

The tool used was still the same, a crystal ball with a carved stand. Ari placed his hand on the crystal ball, which seemed to light up momentarily with a faint white light. it only took a second and the results of Ari's examination had appeared from under the crystal ball.

The officer taking care of the examination then recorded Ari's results before giving them to Ari.

'I can't wait to see my progress!'