Since they were going in the same direction around the same time, Billy and his family went together the next day to the place where the kids were going to train. Apparently, Drew and Alexander's dad were old friends, so they went together as well. He was relatively thin and short compared to the other warriors, but he played with his spear around, and he was quite skilled. Not to mention, Alexander's dad didn't have many scars on his body. When Billy used Appraisal on him, he learned that his name was Nikola.
The area where the kids were going to train was the same as the members of the tribe stayed when they arrived at that town four years ago. However, the place now no longer looked like a plaza… it had been walled and since it had a lot of grass around. It looked like a proper training ground.
"Behave yourself, Billy," Drew said before leaving.
"Don't worry, Billy," Camilla said. "It might be a bit scary at the beginning, but we will return to pick you up later."
Billy nodded. Even though he looked as calm as usual, his parents thought that he would be scared of staying away from them for long and nearby strangers. They couldn't be more wrong… he just didn't interact with others that much because he didn't feel the need, and he wanted all the mana possible, so Meditation was something he used whenever he had free time.
Nevertheless, a lot of kids were already in the training grounds, and Billy confirmed that the traits of his tribe really were quite different from the others. Still, each tribe at least had one physical characteristic that made them recognizable. Billy recognized the kids from the beardo tribe since they all had red hair.
There was another tribe that had no weapons, but their fists looked larger than usual. Another one where all of the members were quite tall and thin as well. The most curious tribe had members that kept their eyes closed as much as possible… Billy had no idea why they were doing that, though. There were other tribes, but they were more normal, and their numbers were pretty small. And that was putting aside the members of the Hammersmith.
In any case, most tribes had two instructors, but four of them had five instructors, and one had ten. The largest number belonged to the Hammersmiths. Their physical strength made them stand out even when they were kids… Regardless, the group that had five instructors was Billy's tribe, the redhead guys, the tall guys, and the guys who kept their eyes closed.
The instructors meet at the center of the training grounds to discuss something while the kids still stay away from each other in their original groups. It was really troubling that even though those tribes have been working together for years, not even the kids liked the members of the other tribes.
"I am getting nervous," Alexander said.
"Why? Everyone here are just kids…" Billy said.
It was hard for Billy to talk and act like a kid, so that was why he stayed silent most of the time. Still, he couldn't stay quiet after hearing that since Alexander might attract unwanted attention to them. Troublesome kids tend to look for easy targets to bully, and there was no easier target than a scaredy-cat.
After a while, the instructors of the tribe returned, and they said that everyone would have to show a quick demonstration about their fighting styles. It seemed obvious since they couldn't make kids spar and not hope that something wouldn't happen. Besides, by watching the other tribe, they might learn a thing or two as well, or at least learn enough to prevent accidents when they begin to train together.
In the end, that was just a demonstration, but the instructors made sure to put everyone to show what they could do. Still, the redhead guys that belonged to the beardo tribe couldn't spar since their weapon was a bow. They probably had some secret techniques for when the enemies get close, but showing that would be pretty stupid. In the end, they just fired some arrows toward some straw dummies. Each one of them did the same and fired ten arrows. Still, even those who were as old as Billy could hit the dummy five out of ten times. Those who were older basically only aimed toward the heads of the dummies, and their Aim was even better…
The apprentices of the hammersmiths showed how strong they were by using some big-ass hammers. While the guys with closed eyes showed how they could fight with swords even without opening them. It seemed like a spectacle… the whole presentation. Soon enough, the instructors of Billy's tribe made their apprentices spar against each other. There was nothing impressive going on, but everyone paid attention to them.
"It seems I can learn a few things from these kids…" Billy thought.
While the tribes didn't look that friendly, Billy couldn't feel much animosity coming from most of them. However, he could feel some very angry gazes coming from the redhead archers. It seemed the incident with Alexander still was in their heads…
"I guess I will put aside the idea of learning Archery… I wonder if there is a skill that will alert me if an arrow is being pointed at me?" Billy thought while rubbing his chin.