Arthur shut off the tablet when he got tired of reading about the war. He had a bad feeling he just couldn't get rid of ever since he heard about the invasion force landing on Boros. He couldn't place it but he could not help but feel this was bigger than it was made out to be.
Strong walked in right before curfew started and he sat down on his bed and looked at Arthur with a guilty look on his face.
"You were out fighting, weren't you?" Asked Arthur as he looked at Strong look at everything but him.
"Yeah, all three of us went. We wanted to pass the time instead of worrying about you so Asura made the suggestion that we go watch what was happening in the underground ring" replied Strong.
"Did you defeat your opponent?" asked Arthur, knowing full well that at Strong definitely went to participate instead of just spectate.
"I won, that's all that matters right? I also hit level nine tonight. With your crazy experience bonus over the last few weeks and that final opponent, I'm that much closer to level ten" said Strong.
"Speaking of level ten, that's what happened to me yesterday after training. Apparently your body goes through some drastic changes once level 10 rolls around and it puts you out for a couple of days. I guess that's the whole purpose of basic training here. They take away all of our stuff, deliberately cut us off from everything, so we can focus on training and hit level 10. It's supposed to take the better part of a year, but with the massive experience bonus we've been getting, its taken a lot less time. The training we do is probably worth different levels of experience. We weren't always going to get what we are getting now as I'm sure the system weights melee combat training heavier than some of the other stuff they have planned for us."
"That's good information" replied Strong as he thought about what Arthur said. And it made sense once he mulled it over some more. "So, what are they going to do with you now that you've completed the reason for basic training?"
"I'm not sure. The doctor told me to continue regularly until the instructors make a decision, but it's very possible they split us up and move me to the second year course. I would have liked to at least do the ranged weapons training, but I'm not sure what the plan is now." Replied Arthur.
Arthur and Strong laid down and went to sleep, waking up at the usual time for PT and then breakfast after.
PT was effortless for Arthur as he realized he was in an entirely different league than the other cadets. He could support half the weight of the pole and still run without trouble, but he didn't tell the other cadets that. It was an easy experience for him. Private Brick felt like a feather on his back, and the run felt more like an easy jog.
Payne didn't have anything to say to Arthur like he expected, so Arthur continued like normal, ate breakfast, and went straight to the indoor combat training space allocated for their class. On the way there he told Mackenzie and Asura what he had told Strong the night before making them even more excited to break the level ten barrier. Mackenzie was lagging behind at level eight and both Strong and Asura had just hit level nine. Arthur calculated they would all hit level ten in 4 weeks or less. Closer to three for the two at level nine.
Arthur walked into the training room and took his usual position at the head of the class. He started them off with warmups but was interrupted by another messenger asking for his presence in the training center command room.
Leaving the class in Asura's hands, Arthur followed him out and into the command room where a few officers and instructors were keeping tabs on the various classes in the complex. He walked over to Payne who was waiting for him with a couple other instructors and stood at attention waiting to be addressed.
"I hear you've broken an Academy record and hit level ten in a little over two months" said Payne. "How did you do it cadet? We are all curious to know."
"It was a system skill sir" replied Arthur. "I have a system skill that awards bonus experience for every soldier under my command. The experience modifier has a max of twenty cadets, but it looks like the whole twenty-nine cadets get the benefit of the modifier for the twenty."
"I knew your system rank was higher than the pod readout" said Major stone, walking up with Arthurs file pulled up on his tablet. "The pod couldn't see the modifiers or the skills, it just gave a base readout. You have an S rank system if I had to guess. We have never had one in the academy so this is all new to us. It's possible its just an A and you were blessed with a broken command skill, but I'd bet my career that its an S."
Arthur didn't know how to respond so he merely nodded and stood there awaiting further instruction.
"We need to figure out what to do with you" said Major Stone, obviously in deep thought.
"Keep him in his current role for now is my suggestion" said Payne. "The purpose of our strenuous training is to get cadets past the level ten mark. Cadet Wright here can help propel his whole class into the next year of cadets if we allow him to continue instructing basic combat training. We need more soldiers and we will need them quick if what I hear about the war is true."
"You're proposal has merit and I think that's the best course of action right now" said Major Stone. "Oh, one more thing, we can't allow you to compete in the tournament now, but we will allow the class to continue on its current trajectory if they are still below level ten by the time it rolls around. You have an extremely unfair advantage. If your class has the most wins, you will still be included in the award with you being the classes teacher. Dismissed Cadet!"
"Understood Major" replied Arthur as he turned around and headed back to his class with a huge smile on his face.