We were all woken up very early the next morning and told that it was time to pack up the camp. Tearing it down took almost no time at all, and once again, we were on the road. Laurec decided that it would be beneficial to the group if we all double-timed our pace, so it didn't take long until we saw the massive stone walls that indicated that we were at the training area. We would spend just a few days here, learning different formations and having our skills tested.
We entered through a giant wooden draw bridge type of door and were immediately met with the sound of people training. There had to be at least two-hundred people here already, but the walls were massive and easily fit the new additions into it. We were told to get into formation while the Lieutenant and Sergeant went to go talk to someone. They expected us not to speak while they were away, but of course, we did.
"I wish all of this war stuff was over already." Said the boy that I had given the potion to a day prior.
"It hasn't even really started yet, so don't complain," Jack responded. "It's going to get a lot worse before it gets better, so you have no reason to complain just yet."
"You know you could lay off of him. He's only a kid." Laura stepped in to defend him, but the boy didn't like being called a kid.
"I'm twelve! I'm not a kid!" I chuckled a little bit at his words; I had forgotten that there was a time that I really wanted to grow up too. But then again, being a kid in this world was probably more rough than I could even imagine. 'And I've almost died three times!' There were a few people in front of us that tried to tell us to be quiet, but their squads didn't really have much room to talk either as you could hear the chatter coming from them just as loudly as you could hear it from us.
"So, what's it like?" Grace turned to Jack and asked. The old woman looked at her coldly, almost as if a fly had just spoken to her.
"What is what, like?" She begrudgingly answered.
"War." The Assassin rolled her eyes at the Paladins question.
"Why ask me? You'll see soon enough." Grace didn't care for this answer; she was all about teamwork; it was what had kept us all alive so far after all.
"Well, seeing as you're a member of this squad and the most experienced in such things, I just thought that-" Grace was in the middle of her sentence when the woman interrupted her.
"I have no interest in being a member of this squad. You're all just a bunch of crying children still. Half of you will be dead after the first battle, so don't try to force me into your little group. I will fight next to you, and you will do your best to stay out of my way." It was my turn to step in.
"There's no need for you to talk like that! Like it or not, you are a part of my squad, and while you are, you'll be expected to cooperate with us until the time that I'm fired from this position." I paused after my short speech to see the Assassin's reaction. She did something that I didn't expect, though, she started laughing.
"Oh, that's hilarious! The alchemist who somehow lucked his way into squad leader is telling me what to do." In a flash, she was gone; my body reacted and reached for a small vial in my pocket that contained weak acid. A second later, she appeared at my back with a knife to it. "I could kill you right here, and now you know? Then what would your friends do, little alchemist?" I angled the vial down till a drop almost made its way out of the glass container.
"You could do that, but you'd lose a foot in the process." I glanced down, making the woman follow my lead. Once again, she started laughing, but she still drew away from me and made her way back in line.
"Well then, it looks like the alchemist has some skills. Very well, I will try to cooperate with you for the time being." As soon as she said that, the loud voice of Laurec could be heard booming over the heads of the Platoon.
"What is going on here?" Before I even had a chance to say anything, Jack opened her mouth to speak.
"The squad leader was just putting an unruly member of his squad back in line, sergeant." The man glared at the Assassin, he had been hoping on firing me for this little scene, but he couldn't fault a leader for giving orders to his squad that he had put out in the first place.
"Don't let it happen again." He said coldly, turning his eyes to me. Before I had a chance to respond, Laurec moved on. "This is your instructor for the next few days; you will address them as 'trainer' that is all." The Platoon Sergeant moved out of the way, and a huge man walked up. He wore plated armor, but he didn't cover his bald head with a helmet. Instead, his crown was covered in a thick layer of scars.
"Good afternoon, platoon!" The trainer began. "I am going to be your trainer during the duration of your stay here; it's nice to meet you." It was so strange hearing the voice that came out of this intimidating man, it was much higher than expected, and he seemed very chipper. "Today, we'll begin with testing each of your abilities. Doing this will allow me to come up with a plan of action in order to help you all work best as a unit on the battlefield. If you'll all follow me single file, please."
The man turned around and began walking away; Sergeant Laurec yelled at us to get a move on, so we did. Each squad fell out and followed the man who reminded me of a kindergarten teacher. He led us to a wide-open area away from the rest of the people that were already here to train when we got here, and then he made us stand in a line in front of him.
"Today, you will fight me one on one and show me your abilities. When I say stop, you will stop, are we understood?" There was an echo of "yes trainer," and then we began. The man pointed to the first person in line. A woman probably about my Masters' age. She carried a long sword on her back, which made me think that she must be a Dark Knight. Dark Knights were known to use spiritual power imbued with their swordsmanship, which made it different than most sword skills that used mana as their primary energy source.
It was almost as rare of a job as mine, but unlike alchemists, Dark Knights were revered as powerful swordsmen. The woman, who I now recognized as the squad leader of squad number one, stepped forward and pulled her sword out of its sheath. She then took a fighting stance holding her greatsword down in a way that made it obvious which way she was going to swing first. The trainer stood there, looking amused at the sight of the squad leader.
There was a moment of silence before he told her that she could begin. The moment the words escaped his mouth, the Dark Knight sprinted forward with explosive power; her sword was now coated in dark energy as she swiped up towards the face of the man hoping to catch him off guard. But the trainer was ready for it; he quickly dodged the blade and the following energy way that came from the tip of the sword.
The Dark Knight adjusted her stance quickly and brought her sword in an arc for an overhead strike. Once more, it was easily dodged, but this time when the blade hit the ground, energy exploded from the ground sending a shockwave that would cause the trainer to become unbalanced. At least that was the squad leader's plan. It would still not work; however, the trainer nimbly jumped into the air avoiding the shock wave. While in the air, he twisted his body and kicked out, catching the woman in the face. She rose back up with annoyance on her face.
"Stop!" The trainer said before she could get another swipe in. The man took a moment to look at the rest of the people in line. "Now, can anyone tell me what this talented Dark Knight did wrong?" There was no hint of sarcasm in his voice; he was genuinely calling her talented; this teacher didn't believe in tearing down his students just because he could beat them. I knew the answer, 'telegraphing.' but before I could get it out, a member of the second squad beat me to it.
"Her moves were too obvious. She didn't try to hide her next move." The trainer pointed at the person who had answered and touched his nose at the same time.
"Spot on!" He then looked back at the Dark Knight. "I know it can be hard to not telegraph your next move with a sword as big as yours, but you can trick an enemy with your eyes. You know where your sword is going to go, don't let an enemy in your mind, ok?" The Squad leader nodded and fell back in line.