We made our way out of the city into a wooded area. Along the way I say some herbs and mushroom and even a small lizard I grabbed and stuffed into my hip pouch. My survival training in the academy made me automatically look for food in wooded areas and loot it before others did. It was a habit.
So while we are all running I'm looking for lunch while we go.
I see a couple others doing the same.
After a long run with everyone sweating up a storm we make it into a clearing in the clearing is an obstacle course.
"For the next 6 months these woods are your home. You will catch your own food, make your own shelter, and be up and ready for drills each morning at sunrise." he tells the panting group.
"Three strikes and you will be kicked out and have to retake this class 6 months from now." he informs everyone.
"As you can tell from your packs you only have a blanket, a pot, a canteen and your knife. Your job in the next hour is to set up a living space, I can assure you that it gets very cold and very wet at night so unless you want to sleep on the cold damp ground I suggest you get to work." he says.
everyone scrambles to look for materials to build raised beds and shelters. Sleeping on the ground makes you cold, sore and wet from morning dew.
I make my way over to the edge of the woods near a bunch of trees. Using wood magic in a few minutes I've got a perfect raised bed made out of wood and covered by a leaning shelter. wood magic is great for manipulating roots, branches, and sticks into quick shelter especially in forested areas like this.
a downed tree is perfect to use wind magic on for a small stump chair and table. Just a couple wind blades and it's cut perfectly.
A small dug pit with rocks at the bottom and you've got a nice fire pit to keep you warm. For increased efficiency you can make a small log wall to help reflect some heat towards you. Make sure it's far enough away your shelter won't catch fire.
little spark from your knife on a flint stone or a small fire magic ember and you've got fire.
Water from the nearby stream or water magic if you want instant clean drinkable water.
Use some water in my pot set it on the fire to boil. Grab my herbs, nuts, mushroom, and little lizard. Chop those up using my stump table and toss them into the pot and I've got a nice lizard stew going while everyone is still looking for materials.
The knight in question gives me an appreciative glance as he has heard about me around the kingdom as a well known genius.
The rest of the students look at what I did before trying some of my tricks sadly there are no wood magic users as they are mostly elves or druids. so it doesn't amount to much.
After an hour there are only a couple camps properly set up.
"Supplies down what you have currently made is what you'll be sleeping in tonight." the knight shouts.
Looks like quite a few people will be sleeping on the ground next to hastily made campfires.
Over the next couple of months we did absolute tons of exercises. People dropped out of the classes daily as it was hard. Running obstacle courses moat of the day then hunting for your own food and then learning the chain of command and military knowledge along with getting beatings to learn military boxing and techniques.
Any babyfat I still had was fucking gone. Replacing it was strong rock hard muscles. A chiseled body from eating healthy and excircising daily.
When we were done with basic. The last ten of us left were invited to elite classes.
If the basic was for regular army soldiers then the elite classes were for special forces. People ment to kill without mercy quick and effective.
Our first week we were made to kill death row prisoners in hand to hand combat. We were brought to raid bandit camps. If they resisted we were tasked to kill.
We went in as kids and came out as cold blooded killers.
Next up was specialized training we had leadership and squad leading classes. Proper real time battle simulations we were given troops we had to command to defeat opponents like chess but with real people.
Games of capture the flag were played with use giving orders.
And finally the last military based class. Information gathering and assassination.
We learned to be stealthy, to use bows for silent kills. We learned how to quietly blend in kill someone and slip away before we were caught.
Punishments for capture were severe. I have lash marks down my back from getting caught on different occasions.
Their motto was a whipping to get you motivated to do better is a better alternative to being captured and interrogated.
We went through anti torture classes to prevent information leaks. For that to happen we had to experience tortures.
It was rough. We were starved, beaten, cut, burned, deprived of sleep. No matter if you cried or screamed or begged we had all signed papers not allowing us to quit.
There were only 3 of us who did the assassin classes. The other 2 quit after leadership classes.
Mental stress was hard on us we would be healed after torture sessions to not leave scars but it all adds up mentally.
We were assigned specialists to watch us for 2 weeks before we graduated to make sure we weren't suicidal or insane in any way. One of us was indeed broken and he would be going through some therapy.
We had personally learned torture and interrogation skills. Stealth and assassination. Information gathering and sabotage. we were prepared to blend into enemy territory and silently kill our way out at any point in time.