Six months had passed.
The span felt both long and short at once.
Yet in that time the changes the students of Lion’s Moat had endured were anything but small. Ordinary physical conditioning had given way to strength training, practiced footwork and movement, hand-to-hand combat, and knife work.
The obstacle course Kun and the others were running was only one of those innovations.
— Haa… haa…
Kun slid through the final barrier and heavy, strained breath tore from his chest. His training clothes were soaked through with sweat. His body demanded that he collapse to the ground and fall into rest, but—
— Haa, haa…
He would not allow himself that. Instead of falling, he forced his breathing to even out. Lifting his head, he stared at the next obstacles stretching ahead.
— Fuuuh. Fuuuh.
Those barriers had begun to be added one or two at a time about three months ago. Now there were so many that the whole distance had to be split into three full stages.
Kun wiped his sweat-drenched face with his sleeve and muttered, Second stage done. Next — the third?
If the second stage held medium-sized obstacles, the third contained truly large ones. You had to clamber up huge walls relying only on your grip and arm strength, or leap across chasms while hanging by a single rope.
If he hesitated here, his mind might give way, and those colossal obstacles would defeat him.
Before that thought could fully form, Kun’s body was already moving.
— Haa… haa…
Only after reaching the very end of the course did Kun allow himself to drop to the ground, spent.
— Fuuuh, fuuuh.
Whether because the training’s difficulty had soared to unimaginable heights compared to the day he first woke here, or because of the sudden drop in exertion, nausea pressed at his throat.
— Kh!..
It felt as if one wrong move would send his breakfast spilling to the earth.
— U-uh!
And indeed — sounds began to come: some students who had reached the finish were already retching.
— …U-ue-ek!
Feeling the nausea surge anew at those sounds, Kun thought, This too can be called a change. Haa… haa…
His gaze fell on the vest he had just taken off after crossing the finish line. It wasn’t an ordinary vest but a special one packed full of kilos of sand.
Haa, haa…
In this body his soul already barely held. Training with several kilograms of added weight… no wonder the difficulty felt off the charts.
— Fuu…
Kun glanced over his body and smiled bitterly.
The only consolation — this damned corpse is slowly coming to rights.
And it was true. Over half a year Kun’s body had altered dramatically. His shoulders had broadened; calluses and clear signs of forming muscles had appeared on his skin. Most importantly, his mana reserves had increased significantly. These were comprehensive changes, affecting both inner energy and the outer shell.
Of course, perfection was still far off, but…
Kun felt these changes keenly. The fact he no longer lagged at the back despite the daily intensification of the program was proof enough. Sleepless nights spent on extra practice had borne fruit.
Kun was about to wipe his nose with his sleeve again when a voice rolled across all of Lion’s Moat like thunder:
— Fall in! Fall in! Move, quickly!
Hearing the instructors’ shouts that marked the end of rest, some pupils exchanged puzzled looks.
— Fall in?
— What’s happening so suddenly?
Usually a short break was followed immediately by the next training. A sudden order to assemble raised reasonable questions.
When the formation had been made, the senior instructor strode out at the front with heavy steps. He climbed onto a purpose-built dais.
Thud, thud…
Power that made the air itself seem threatening radiated from him. Even his mask differed from those worn by ordinary instructors.
— …
Knowing he stood before the senior instructor, the students swallowed and drew their heads into their shoulders. He swept them with a heavy gaze and spoke:
— From today we begin real training in Lion’s Moat.
No preamble — straight to the point. After the first few seconds of bewilderment a whisper spread among the pupils.
— Re-real training?
— So… everything up till now was just warm-up?!
Before the murmur could spread like a forest fire, the senior instructor continued his explanation:
— The level of difficulty and intensity will increase. Additionally, from this day you will begin studying sword techniques and methods of Aura breathing.
But that news only poured fuel on the flames.
— Aura?
— Sword techniques?
As soon as he finished, the crowd buzzed louder than expected.
“Sword techniques and Aura breathing.”
Their reaction was understandable. The children of farmers, innkeepers’ sons, former beggars and pickpockets — the overwhelming majority here had no connection to aristocracy or notable houses. For them, the terms “sword technique” and “Aura” had always been something beyond reach.
Though in truth any seasoned mercenary knew the basics of breathing and basic moves…
For these kids, however, those terms were a symbol of belonging to the knightly caste, a kind of pass into a higher world.
— Aura breathing?
— That’s what knights use?
— Sword techniques? Are we really going to learn them?!
Some students had already begun to chatter with excitement as if they would be great warriors this instant. The children of noble families only gave them scornful looks.
— So at last we—!
Just as one boy, unable to contain his excitement, was about to shout, the senior instructor stomped his foot sharply.
— Silence!
Ba-am!
From his foot a wave of raw power spread in all directions like a tsunami!
Crash!
The impact was so strong that not only the dais but the ground for several meters around the formation trembled. A column of dust rose; the stone rise on which the instructor stood cracked.
Watching the consequences of that gesture, Kun squinted.
…Ha.
He knew someone who oversaw an entire training camp could not be weak. Still…
…Who would have thought.
The senior instructor turned out to be a Master of Expert rank. That level was far beyond ordinary bodily mana augmentation. An Expert is one who can shroud a blade with their power and project it outward as Weapon Aura. A person of that caliber should not be languishing as a mere instructor.
That such a Master stood here indicated only one thing…
It was further proof of how much effort House Zoldic invested in Lion’s Moat.
Once he had ensured all the pupils were hushed with fear, the senior instructor continued:
— …Also, from today your rations will be reduced.
No sooner had he finished than a hum rose among the children again.
— W-what?..
— Cut food?..
— But we already have almost nothing to eat!
And it was true. The students’ rations were meager — just enough to avoid starving. For growing bodies that seemed able to digest stones, that was catastrophically little.
And now they intended to cut even that.
The children’s indignation was predictable. But the instructor cut it off before it could grow into open protest.
— However, that does not mean you have no way to fill your bellies.
— ?!
Intrigued, the pupils stared at him in expectation.
— In our Lion’s Moat the rule applies: “The living take all.” The strongest survive. I do not set other rules regarding the procurement of food. Therefore… — he looked down at them with a terrifying grin. — Think carefully for yourselves how you will stuff your stomachs.
Cruelty bled through his tone and expression.
Think for ourselves how to stuff our stomachs?
Kun smiled coldly. The instructors’ intentions were as clear as day.
For children of this age nothing is more tormenting than hunger. Especially for those who already knew want and deprivation. The instructors knew this perfectly.
Cutting rations — provoking fights.
They were openly pushing the children toward violence so that they would grow accustomed to real combat through the struggle for a scrap of bread.
Well, not a bad plan.
Just as a greenhouse flower will not survive outside its glass, a swordsman will not become a warrior without struggle. Kun had already seen some pupils starting to hunt with their eyes, looking for weaker peers to prey on. The others grasped the situation more slowly and their faces gradually grew pale.
Watching the instructor’s ambiguous smirk, Kun whispered to himself, The question is whether there’s something more behind this…
The principle “The living take all.” The choice of words was clearly not accidental.
Before Kun could sink deeper into thought, the voice above sounded again.
— And one more thing…
The instructor pulled a small book from beneath his cloak and held it aloft.
— This is the Aura-breathing manual you will begin studying today.
The book, no larger than two palms, looked unusual. Feeling a hundred hungry gazes on him, the instructor twitched it in the air.
— I advise you to put all your effort into mastering it. Otherwise…
— ?..
— …in three months you will learn on your own skin what true hell is.
After those ominous words a heavy, oppressive silence hung over the crowd.