Reinhard continued to train hard. Day and night, he swung his sword, completely immersed in the way of the blade. The only times he wasn't seen training were when he needed to eat, or rest.
Even now, Reinhard was swinging his sword at the training dummy before him. Unlike the one he had first trained with when he firs arrived at the training camp, this dummy was an enchanted dummy. A small rune glowed with a purple light on its back. This dummy had the ability to carry out certain motions that had been programmed into the rune. This allowed it to stimulate the person who was using it to spar better.
He had approached Malim a couple of days back to ask for better training equipment, his excuse being, 'A dummy that doesn't fight back is not worthy to taste my sword.'
'Big words for a little man.' Malim had thought. That was until he watched one of Reinhard's solo training sessions late at night. The clumsy Reinhard from a few months ago had almost completely disappeared. What remained was a Peak Earth class Martial Artist that gave off a sharp and determined vibe.
"Hahaha, little monster." Malim grinned from his perch on the fence surrounding the field. He had concealed his presence so anyone who wasn't strong enough wouldn't be able to tell he was there unless they actually saw his properly or had a spell that negated his concealment. He watched Reinhard for a few more minutes before nodding his head silently.
A strong gust of wind blew through the field, and with it, Malim disappeared.
...
"Stalking a new recruit, eh?" Malim jerked at the unexpected presence behind him. He calmed down as soon as he realized he recognized the presence.
"What I do does not concern you, Eren." Malim scoffed before carrying on. He stuck his hands in his pockets as he went through the winding paths of the camp. Eren idly followed behind. The both of them resembled ordinary soldiers at this moment, not putting on any airs as there were no recruits to impress.
"You'll be even more impressed if you see his friend." Eren grinned, recalling the memory of a childish Mage that had been stuck to his side for over a week. Kai. That was his name.
Eren recalled how much of a monstrosity he thought the child was when he first tried to get a reading of his affinity for magic. It was no wonder he had gotten into the Earth class at such a young age.
One thing to keep in mind was that Mages often found it harder to progress than Martial Artists. That was why there were far more Martial Artists than Mages in the known universe. The laws of the universe only managed to keep the scale balanced by giving Mages an edge over Martial Artists in terms of power; A single Sky class Mage could defeat an entire squad of Sky class Martial Artists, albeit with difficulty. This gap only grew wider and wider the higher you went on, up till the point where a single experienced King class Mage could devastate over a dozen King class Martial Artists.
"What's so special about this friend of his?" Malim's curiosity was piqued the moment something concerning Reinhard was brought up. Despite not wanting to attach himself to anything or anyone, the growing Martial Artist had managed to draw his attention in a very surprising way.
"I thought you hated Mages?" Eren chided.
"Bah! Mages disgust me." Malim waved his hand in the air. Eren just shook his head before he continued his story.
"Back during the Selection, High General Rudolf and I came across an anomaly of a backwater world. The kid was barely eighteen but he was already in the Mid-Earth class. Pretty good, huh? That's not all. The kid had an affinity for all four main elements. That's just crazy!" Eren waved wildly for a moment before regaining his composure.
"Of course. Mages always have it easy." Malim snorted.
The both of the continued walking for some more time before stepping into a small inn-like building.
"Well then. I'll be taking my leave." He spoke before he stepped into his room that was on the lower floor. Eren nodded silently in the darkness before walking upstairs to his own room.
While the both of them were busy discussing, Reinhard had finally stopped swinging his sword. He wiped the sweat that had gathered on his forehead before turning around and walking back into the armory that was just to the side of the open field.
Various different weapons lined up the walls on either side of his as he stepped into the armory. Weapons and armor with shiny exteriors gleamed when the bright moonlight passed over their surface.
Reinhard took a seat on one of the many benches that were available before stopping to examine his sword. He felt a slight difference whenever he looked at the sword. At first, he had picked the sword because it fit what he was looking for and his body structure, but over the past couple of months, he felt as though he had built a bond with the blade.
His reflection stared back at him for a moment before he sighed and placed the sword on the rack.
"What am I thinking? Damn..." Reinhard rubbed his face before getting up and walking out of the armory.