In front of Saiba, with a distressed expression, Gram stands. In return, Saiba screams too as a third person swoops in and covers both his and Gram's mouths.
Saiba looks over and sees a man in a brown robe with a hood drooping over his face. The man instructs,
"Quiet. You'll wake the others."
Saiba takes the hand off of his mouth and questions,
"Rasco... Right?"
Flipping the hood off of his head, the man replies,
"Bullseye..."
Next, Saiba asks,
"What are you two doing here?"
He looks around and notices a log with multiple stab and cut marks lining the exterior. Gram answers,
"I was uh... Training..?"
Saiba replies,
"Him too?"
Rasco mutters,
"Nope. Just watching."
Gram says,
"R-Rasco caught me training on the first night and he's been helping me out ever since..."
Saiba responds,
"Ah I see..."
He turns around while shouting,
"Well, I'm going back to bed now! Good luck with your training!"
Gram frantically exclaims,
"Y-You're not staying!?"
Confused, Saiba asks,
"Do you want me to?"
Gram replies,
"W-Well... You're strong and I think I would learn a lot from training with you... A-And you might learn something too..."
Saiba thinks,
"Hm... He has a point... Why not!"
He goes along with them and begins training. Saiba takes the lead and stands in the open field. He instructs,
"Gram! Come at me like you wanna kill me!"
Gram stands across from him and nervously asks,
"A-Are you sure?.."
Saiba pats the front of his armor as a signal. Shaking a little, Gram charges in, a new knife in hand.
He swings it, but Saiba stops him by grabbing his wrist with ease. He says,
"You hesitated, didn't you? You're not gonna get stronger if you hesitate over something as small as this."
Looking down, Gram replies,
"I-I guess..."
Saiba puts his arm on Gram's shoulder and says,
"Try again!"
Gram nods as he jogs back to his spot. Once again, Gram rushes in, aiming straight and focused.
He misses and stumbles forward. Saiba shouts,
"Again!"
Gram continues rushing in towards Saiba, to no avail. This goes on for the rest of the night. During this, Rasco just leans on a tree, hood down and completely asleep.
Finishing up, the two sit on the ground as Saiba points to Rasco and asks,
"Why is he here anyways?"
Awkwardly laughing, Gram replies,
"He told me he just wanted to watch... He usually provides light..."
Saiba notices some lit up branches plugged into the ground and says,
"I see..."
Looking back, he asks,
"So why do you wanna ge-"
He cuts himself off as he sees Gram lying on the ground, asleep. Saiba thinks,
"I guess he got tired from all that... I should sleep too. A grass bed doesn't sound that bad."
He pats the grass flat and lies down. Before falling asleep, he feels the ground shake as it is accompanied by a faint rumbling. Succumbing to his exhaustion, he pays no mind to it.
The next morning, Saiba gets woken up by sounds of rallying. Slowly sitting up, he notices the class, except for Gram and Rosco, jumping up and down, chanting.
Their loud noises can be heard echoing between the two mountains. Behind him, Gram and Rosco are both waking up as well. They yawn and walk to the group, blending in perfectly. Saiba follows along.
Class 1-B sets out on the third day of the field trip. Like usual, they go through challenges, clearing them and easily surpassing the records.
Through the valley they continue. The grass beneath their feet, being trampled with every step. The faint smell of wood and tree sap, mixing and melding within their noses. Quiet noises of birds chirping resonate in the sky.
The serenity is quickly broken by a sound of a loud stomp an equally loud announcement stating,
"We're here!"
Saiba steps a little to the side to get a better look. In front, a majestic view of rocks can be seen.
Years of natural carving and shaping have all led to the formation of the mountain that lay before them. Countless others have stepped foot on this landmark as their traces are exuded onto the students.
With a new found confidence, they trek up the mountain onward to their final destination. The path is quite safe, with some plateaus on the way, providing a stable resting area.
Just as the sun hides away and the moon peeks out, they reach a plateau halfway up the mountain and take a rest. They perform their usual party and go to bed after.
Also like usual, Gram and Rosco break off to go training, now with Saiba as a part of their group as well.
The following morning, the class gets up early to proceed to another day of climbing. As they have arrived at the mountain, there are no more checkpoints awaiting them.
Instead, the road ahead only consists of a path to travel on. Taking up the entirety of the day, they finally arrive at the peak of the mountain.
Up there is a wide clearing where they can rest up and prepare for the adventure back down. Getting ready to rest, Robbie suggests,
"Guys! Since we're already almost there and there's still three days left, let's take it easy tomorrow! We don't wanna win by TOO much!"
He snickers after that last line. The class agrees and goes to bed. Seeing as there's nowhere to train, Gram, Rosco, and Saiba take the night off.
As the night progresses, Saiba gets woken up. Beneath him, a loud rumbling echoes throughout the mountain.
Getting up, he searches for the source of the commotion. Looking down, he finally sees it as his face turns pale.