Another man who seemed to be of a higher rank than the old man arranged us, once again, into the two separate groups. The two men seemed to share a conflict but the old man didn’t dare raise his voice. He meekly replied and accepted all that the other man had to say. The old man reluctantly turned to us and said, “Follow me.”

Maybe it was a disgrace for him to teach us, or maybe something else. Regardless, I’ll use this to learn everything I can. Information is both the best offense and best defense. 

We walked through the huge corridor on the left-side of the court, we eventually reached a stair-case and went down a floor and then went outside. It was an open ground with what seemed to be a huge round track, there were a few targets dispersed in the right corner of the ground, which seemed to be for archery. And on the left I saw a few practice dummies, I assume it’s for the sword? Probably.

The old man then told all of us to assemble on the track, and then shouted “Finish 10 rounds on the track!”

All of the duds started running. I asked my assistant next to me, ‘Do you think any of them will understand what this training is about?’

‘I’m not sure sir.’ 

‘Yeah, me neither.’

There were a few of the duds that were grown-like pigs, was their world that carefree or did we pick the wrong people? Even though they should be powerful... These don’t seem to be. By the time the first round ended, there were a few that still didn’t finish their first round and it also included... that boy..?

‘Hey? Who was that kid again?’

‘Errr... if you’re talking about the one that’s still not done with its rounds... Then, it’d be Liam Watson, sir.’

Did he maybe understand the content of the training? Probably not, but for some reason this was the same boy that talked to the king and then was up-early when I went to wake them up. 

‘What skills does he have?’

‘[Transmutation]... And [Mana Cable].’ I could feel the excitement wipe off my face. Even though he’s willing to learn and put in the work, he doesn’t have the talent necessary for those efforts to bear fruit. It wouldn’t be surprising at all if he died because of this.

‘That’s... quite disappointing.’ For some reason the boy reminded me of myself. I was the same. Even though I had put in effort, all I got was this shitty job teaching brats like these. That asshole took all the real heroes for himself while I’m stuck with these duds.

By the fifth round, something was clear. Most of the students who kept in first place were now on the ground exhausted, they probably wanted to impress me but in the end, all they did was disappoint me. Though there were two that surprised me, one was Liam Watson who still kept going at a moderate pace, yet could still continue because he conserved his energy properly. And the other was another boy who I suspect was copying Liam. 

‘What’s that other kid’s name?’

‘Eiji Lon. His skills are... [Transmutation] and... [Mana Cable].’ The exact same? It wasn’t as though this was impossible, it was just improbable. I wondered what these two can even do? Nonetheless when they finished their 10 rounds they stood in front of me. Eiji looked a lot more tired probably because he only started copying Liam after the third round or so. Though Liam himself looked a lot more tired he didn’t shiver or shake one bit. I asked him, ‘Why didn’t you run?’

I made sure to sound as though he had been wrong, I needed to know his true senses and intentions. He answered, ‘Sir, you ordered us to finish ten rounds, and so I believed that it’d be more beneficial to complete the given task when I don’t run.’

He didn’t give the most perfect answer, but this was good enough. After a long time, I feel excited. This damn brat really impressed me.

I thought that the old man expected us to just follow orders. And I was right. In the military what’s the most important aspect? Is it being the most powerful? Or maybe it’s about immense strategy? I believe that it’s the order. It’s only when an army is in order that it can be most efficient. Even if individually the army may be weak as long as order remains, an army can break through even the most impossible. And this order was exhibited through obedience.

I also knew that I couldn’t run continuously at a high speed, I’m not that capable athletically. And even with me just going at a moderate pace and finishing the rounds, I couldn’t push myself much more.