The next morning, the entire class was up early for physical training. However, unlike the previous times, they only did the warm-up run and not the strength-building exercises afterwards.
Armsmaster Byrne and Leader Yoran pushed the cadets as hard as they could and everyone was winded by the time they finished. Yuriko's sweat dripped down her face and some of her hair stuck to her cheek.
"Recovery!" Armsmaster Byrne yelled.
With a groan, they sat down and started to use the technique.
A twinge of pain lanced through Yuriko when she began.
'What the…?' Frowning, she attempted the technique again but every time she started, it was as if her body rebelled against Recovery. She was tempted to force things along, but the pain and a bad feeling stopped her. Yuriko was just about to call Armsmaster Byrne's attention when, by a strange impulse, she did the golden silhouette's meditation technique instead.
Amidst the groaning, quiet cursing, and grunting of cadets accelerating their muscles' healing, thereby experiencing all the pain and fatigue in such a short time-span, Yuriko circulated her Animus strands. The expected pain she felt every time she used Recovery, pain that she had learned to tolerate without complaint, was muted.
She felt the effect to be mostly the same, though it was somewhat slower, but she thought that she was more adept at Recovery over this…er, Golden Silhouette Revolution Technique? She wasn't sure what to call it either.
Still, she was faster than the others simply because they could not use Recovery on their entire bodies at the same time. It only took one complete revolution to gain the effects of Recovery on her body, and at a measly price of…one-tenth of her reserve?
'Huh, that's more than what Recovery would cost.' But since she could no longer cast Recovery, this was a good enough alternative.
When the cadets finished, they remained seated on the ground while Armsmaster Byrne addressed them.
"From today and for the next three weeks will be a set of field exercises and trials. This afternoon, we will travel to the Shillogu Woods outpost. We will be based there for the next six days. Further, for the first field exercise, you will be divided into teams of five." Armsmaster waved down the hands that suddenly shot up. "The teams have already been determined. The first team will have Orrin, Krystal, Yuriko, Mikel, and Heron. The second team will have Ishika, Millie, Maryn, Zeyn, and Danika."
Zeyn whooped and everybody stared at him. He returned a sheepish grin.
"Ahem," Armsmaster continued. "Third team will be Braden, Janus, Keir, Gilda, and Calus."
This time, they all looked at Gilda to see if she would react like Zeyn but she just reddened under their stare and looked at her feet.
"From now until lunch, you will group up with your teams and discuss roles and tactics. Spend this time learning how to mesh your abilities. The first field exercise will involve hunting down a Wanderer in Shillogu Woods. Gather at the departure point the first hour after lunch. If you have any weapons checked in the armoury, you may take them with you. Other gear will be supplied in the outpost. Dismissed."
Yuriko stood up, looking to go to where her teammates were but before she could even take a step, they converged around her. Blinking in surprise, she turned to Krystal and Mikel who gave her a grin, while Orrin smiled shyly, and Heron had an impassive face except for the slightly upturned corner of his lips.
"So, uhm, I guess we're a team now," Yuriko said. The others nodded. "Who are we designating as team leader?"
"Isn't the Team Leader appointed by our commanding officer?" Orrin asked.
"Armsmaster," Yuriko called out, and when he looked at her, she continued, "Who is the team leader for each team?"
"Figure it out yourselves." He grinned. "You're all at the same rank anyway."
"So there we go," she said, satisfied.
"I guess it's you then," Krystal volunteered.
"Huh, uh I'm not sure I'm suited to lead."
"No, I think you're good for it," Mikel supported, "This isn't a permanent team anyway. Why don't we switch around for every field exercise? There are six anyway."
"That's an excellent idea," Yuriko nodded. She didn't really want to be in charge and honestly thought Krystal would be better at it. "Actually, why don't you be the leader, Krys?"
"Can't. My spec's Scout so I may not be with the team all the time. Besides, you're a ranged Striker, so you'd be in the middle of the group no matter what."
"I suppose. Anyone objecting?"
"No, it's fine," Heron said.
"Same here," Orrin answered.
"I see. Well, the first order of business is revealing our capabilities to each other. The first tenet in warfare is to know yourself, which translates to knowing your team's strength. Facet and abilities should be declared. I'll go first." Yuriko said firmly. "I'm well trained with ranged weapons, specifically the Plasma Caster. I'm accurate to over two to three hundred paces, beyond that is still difficult for me. I'm passingly good at wielding a sword, although I should switch to dual blades now. My Facet isn't combat based, so it is irrelevant for now."
"Wait!" Krystal gasped, "You've inlaid?"
"Yes." Yuriko smiled. Krystal jumped on her and gave her a tight hug,
"That's great!" Krystal squealed.
"Yes, yes. Gerroff!" Yuriko coughed once she was released. "Orrin?"
"Huh, ah, uhm." Orrin swept his hand through his short slicked back blonde hair, stuttered and looked around him. "Er, my Facet is, uh, well, I can make things repel each other. I'm not very good with most weapons but, well, I trained my spear work and with a Plasma Lancet."
"You can make things repel each other?" Mikel and Heron exclaimed.
"Ancestors, can you repel yourself from the ground?" Mikel asked enthusiastically.
"Huh, uhm. I've never tried it before."
"Well, go and try it," Heron said crossing his arms.
"Sure." Orrin closed his eyes and his feet glowed red. A moment letter, it looked like he did a short hop, but he didn't move a muscle. He staggered when he landed back on the ground. "Whoa!"
"Huh, needs work," Heron said.
"Don't mind him, that was a nice try. Especially for your first attempt," Mikel encouraged.
"Anyway," Heron interrupted, "my Facet is the ability to solidify air into hard shields. I can throw one up in a blink of an eye but they have to be within my reach. About a pace, I think. I've been working on my shield and spear skills. What about you, Pike? Did you finally decide to inlay?"
"Yes, I have." Mikel glared at Heron. "I can project a tongue of flame up to thirty paces away. I've focused on the spear and shield combo, too."
"Krystal?" Yuriko prompted.
"Ah, yes. I can track and camouflage myself. It only works when I'm staying still though. I can camouflage my gear, too, but that spends a lot of Animus. I'm fair with the spear. I'm not much of a shooter but I think I can accurately hit anything within ten to twenty paces away with a Lancet."
"We should probably practice together for a bit before lunch. Let's go to a sparring hall?" Heron asked.
The rest of them agreed. Armsmaster Byrne and Leader Yoran had already left, though the other teams were still huddled together.
Braden looked over at their group, at his twin, specifically, said something to his team, then walked over to them.
"Do you mind if I borrow my twin first?" He grabbed Orrin's arm and the two of them spoke in low voices. A minute later they parted ways and Braden returned to his team.
"Let's go," Orrin said.
The sparring hall was several floors above ground. They suited up with protective gear and worked out some group tactics.
Aside from the lessons they had over the past week, Orrin proved to be a font of knowledge. He took on the Controller role mainly because nobody else was suited to it. Yuriko was fine with having him handle the details; she wasn't one to micromanage anyway. Her Da and brothers had given her ample advice and lessons when it came to leadership roles.
"Define a goal, and if something has to be done in a particular way, say so immediately. Otherwise, let your team handle the process on their own." She'd heard Virgil say that often enough to young officers when he brought her to the barracks back in Faron's Crossing. So she chose to do the same thing here. She didn't want to tell them how to take each and every step anyway.
Essentially, their formation was to have her and Mikel protected by Heron, with Orrin as support whenever they experience close-quarters combat. Krystal was to scout out the path, making sure that they're following the correct trails. Yuriko was well-versed with magnifying her vision, though it would be of limited help in the woods but it was better than nothing.
If they spot their target from a good enough distance then they would find a place they could fortify while Yuriko would attempt to kill it by sniping. If she succeeds, good, if not then she would try to lure it to terrain advantageous for the team.
"Any idea what kind of Wanderer we'd encounter?" Krystal asked nervously.
"I don't think they would inform us. It would skew our preparations too much," Yuriko said.
"Well, generally there are two types of Wanderer common here at Rumiga. The Antid, which is huge and has powerful scythe arms, and the Lurker, which can blast heated plasma at medium range," Orrin said.
"The Antid is tough and built to take in punishment while the Lurker is just a bit bulkier than a full-grown man. Lurkers don't move around much, I think," he continued.
"They're also hard to spot," Krystal added. "Most of the injuries and casualties recorded in the Watchtower are from Lurkers."
"Either way, the key to surviving against a Lurker and defeating it is to spot it before it can ambush us." Orrin cleared his throat. "That means it's your job, Miss Zorin, as the Scout."
"Just call me Krystal."
"Right," Orrin blushed. "After we find one, it is up to Yuriko to kill or lure it. But let's talk about what would happen if we get ambushed by it."
"Then it's up to me to protect us," Heron said confidently. "I won't fail."
Yuriko smiled at his confidence but didn't comment. She had experienced for herself how strong his hardened air shields were. She had never actually overcome his shields in a spar, she only worked around them. "Let's get used to each other's fighting style." She said.
By the time they finished, it was just in time for lunch. They headed to the mess hall, even though Orrin complained.
"Let's eat as a team for now," Yuriko said, "Besides, I think the food hall would be packed at this hour and we only have an hour left before muster."
"Fine," Orrin grumbled.
The food was just as bad. Dry ground meat that was only palatable with liberal amounts of gravy, bread that was almost stale, and over-cooked vegetables. Still, they ate quickly until they weren't hungry anymore.
Yuriko detoured to the armoury and picked up her Plasma Caster and side-blade.
"Can I borrow another side-blade?" she asked the woman in the receiving area.
She looked at Yuriko with a curious gaze, before she gestured at the weapon the girl already had, "Isn't that enough?"
"I just inlaid my Facet and I need two swords to make use of it," Yuriko answered simply.
The woman handed her a form to fill out and asked for a silver crown as a deposit. Since the amount was stated on the form, Yuriko handed over the coin and received a receipt.
Afterwards, the woman handed her the side-blade with a sheath. "Inspect it properly and sign the waiver that you received it in good condition. Your deposit will be returned when we get the blade back, also in a similar condition."
Pulling it out of the sheath in a smooth motion, Yuriko looked at every inch of the steel blade, finding a few nicks that she indicated on the paper. The handle was made to attach easily onto the barrel of the Plasma Caster, while the blade itself had an edge on both sides. It actually needed to be sharpened, though the tip was serviceable enough.
She strung both of the sheaths on her left side with her belt. Then she drew both at the same time, adjusting her stance and movements until the steel came out smooth and easy. Nodding to herself, she gave the forms to the woman and left.
She was one of the last to arrive at the tower's base. It was a good thing the transport wasn��t there yet.
Krystal waved at her to join them. Each of the group carried assorted weapons. Heron had a buckler on his left arm and a short spear with a metal haft. Mikel only had a side-blade while Krystal had a small arms version of the Plasma Caster, the Lancet. The range on that wasn't far and it ate a lot of Animus for its munitions, but it could be used easily at melee range. Orrin had a Lancet, too.
They didn't have to wait long before Armsmaster Byrne and Leader Yoran arrived with the transport. Spellweaver Merill was with them but she didn't board the transport after all of the cadets did. Instead, she waved goodbye to Armsmaster Byrne before heading off to her shuttle.
"It's a few hours to the Shillogu Outpost some ten leagues away," Armsmaster Byrne said when he got on the driver's cabin. "I suggest you kids sleep. You won't get many chances to rest."
And with that ominous declaration, the transport pulled away from the Watchtower and made its way to the north.