The next morning, Briggs O'Brian, a soldier from John's unit and a member of the Flying Cavalry Division, woke up early, his body aching with fatigue.
"Hey, Briggs, you'll be late for class if you keep daydreaming. Monster Theory starts in 15 minutes, and you know how temperamental the theory professors can be," said his roommate as he left the room, dressed in a black and gold uniform, a dress code handpicked by John for his unit members.
"Shit," Briggs cursed as he jumped off his bed and hurried to the communal shower room at the military academy dormitory to get dressed.
Five minutes later, Briggs rushed out of the shower room and headed straight back to his room, grabbing his bag on the way. He made sure his hair was neatly combed and all his buttons were fastened correctly.
Fortunately, the men's dormitory was located close to the main building where most classes took place. Briggs managed to arrive just in time for the start of the class. As he entered the lecture hall, he sat beside his roommate, who had saved a spot for him. Briggs let out a sigh of relief, "Phew, just in time," he whispered, as the Monster Theory professor, an old bespectacled man named Ethan Lane, walked into the room.
Ethan Lane, a scholar from the Scholar Republic, was one of the many teachers recruited by Oberon to work at the academies. The collaboration with the High Dwarves and the potential involvement of other races in the North had made John's task of finding talented individuals much easier, significantly boosting the progress of the academies.
"Good morning, everyone. I assume all those who wished to attend are present. Those who are late, as usual, will not be allowed to enter," Ethan announced as he locked the door.
"Hey, did you finish the assignment the professor gave us last week?" Briggs whispered to his roommate, who nodded in response. "Yep, I finished it on the day he assigned it. What about you?" his roommate asked, looking curious.
"Yeah, I completed it a couple of days ago. We had to write a report on the weaknesses of the Red Mountain Wolves, right?" Briggs replied.
After a brief moment of consideration, his roommate, Kendrick, facepalmed. "You fucking idiot, it was the Red Mountain Fox, not the Red Mountain Wolf," Kendrick corrected him.
"Shit," Briggs muttered, just before the lecturer noticed their disturbance and frowned at them. "What is so interesting that you can't pay attention during my lecture?" he scolded.
"Nothing, sir. We were discussing the project you assigned," Kendrick quickly responded, drawing the ire of the entire class towards the buff boy.
"Oh, right. I almost forgot about that. I believe most of you have completed it, correct?" Professor Ethan asked, looking expectantly around the classroom.
Noticing the troubled expressions of his students, Ethan sighed and continued, "How many of you have completed the report?"
Five people raised their hands, and Kendrick was among them. Briggs stood up and asked a question, "Sir, due to a misunderstanding on my part, I mistakenly made my report on the Red Mountain Wolf instead of the Red Mountain Fox. Will that be acceptable?" He looked apologetic.
"It's better than nothing. You six, submit your reports to me. The rest of you, get out of my class. I won't deduct marks for not submitting your project, but I expect it to be done by tomorrow," Ethan replied as he opened the gate and let out a sigh.
With that ordeal over, the class continued for another 45 minutes before they had to rush to their next class, Advanced Arithmetic. The professor surprised them with a test, which Briggs barely managed to complete on time. After the class, most of the students headed straight to the canteen to grab their food. They knew they would have arguments with Kendrick about the project, but hunger took precedence for now.
Next on the schedule was weapon training, where one of the knights from the Grand Duke's unit would instruct them with the weapon of their choice. As knights, they were expected to excel in various forms of weaponry, from daggers to bows, which proved useful when dealing with a class of students with diverse talents.
The weapon training session lasted for nearly two hours, a necessary duration considering the institute's purpose of transforming soldiers into formidable killing machines. After its conclusion, Briggs and the others who were assigned to this session moved on to the military strategy class. This particular class was taught by one of Dante's knights, someone who actively participated in the strategizing process.
By the time all these classes were completed, Briggs and the rest of the students were already exhausted. However, for those belonging to John's unit, an even more grueling challenge awaited. But before that, it was time for lunch, which consisted of an assortment of meats, vegetables, and bread. The students had the freedom to choose from these options, a saving grace as they were treated to delicious monster meat, specially grown Dwarven vegetables, and bread recipes brought from various parts of the empire. John knew from his own experience as a student at the Imperial Military Academy how demoralizing it can be to endure tough training on an empty stomach, so he had pushed for high-quality food in the school's canteens.
With lunch behind them, Briggs and Kendrick made their way to the training grounds where they would face the grueling regime under the leadership of the young prince, their unit leader. Many in the academy expressed envy towards the members of their squad, as they were part of the prince's elite unit. However, if they knew the intensity of their training, those words of envy would quickly fade away.
"Haaaah, I appreciate the opportunity to grow stronger, serve the state, and be part of the prince's first unit, but are all these unorthodox exercises really necessary? After enduring them, my body feels like it's falling apart, even if we don't train further," Briggs remarked, walking alongside Kendrick with a deadpan expression.
"You should understand by now that as unconventional as these techniques may be, they are remarkably effective. Just look at how much leaner some of the cadets in the Mage Division have become. At this rate, they'll surpass some of the knights in appearance," Kendrick retorted, dismissing Briggs' complaints.
"Says the most talented man in the Flying Cavalry Division. Seriously, do you ever get tired? We spend practically the entire day together, but I never see you in as bad a state as most of us cadets. Do you secretly train to improve your stamina or something?" Briggs questioned, his face etched with a frown.
"I mean, I do some mana control training at night as the weapons instructor suggested, but other than that, I don't think I do anything different from you guys. you should know that, we are roommates, after all," Kendrick replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"Damn you and your naturally gifted physique," Briggs cursed, huffed, and walked towards the training area where the rest of their 100-man unit had gathered.
"By the way, what did you name your hippogriff?" Briggs inquired, walking beside Kendrick towards their fellow members from the Aerial Cavalry Division.
"I settled on 'Blitz' because the damn creature is as fast as fuck. what did you name yours?" Kendrick asked.
"I went with 'Grace'... I mean, just look at them. Do I even need to explain why I chose that name?" Briggs replied, a smug grin spreading across his face.
"ATTENTION! SALUTE!" Frederick's commanding shout jolted Briggs just as he was about to respond to Kendrick. Instantly, they snapped into the attention position, saluting their unit leader as he approached.
"At ease," their unit leader replied, and they relaxed their stance.
"Alright, gentlemen, let's begin our training for today. Sir Beaumont will join us shortly, right around the time we start beast training," their unit leader announced, initiating their grueling training routine. It consisted of running, jumping, navigating obstacles, push-ups, pull-ups, kicks, punches, jumping jacks, and many other exercises that pushed their physical limits.
After completing the initial set of exercises, their unit leader and Sir Beaumont engaged in a conversation, allowing the cadets to catch their breath and recover.
"Hufff, I can't comprehend our unit leader, you know. He's so young, yet he possesses an incredible amount of knowledge. I wonder if it's due to his imperial blood or if he's simply that naturally talented," Briggs remarked, lying flat on the ground next to Kendrick, who was wiping the sweat from his brow.
"I'm pretty certain it's his talent. Apparently, he lost the functioning of his left arm on the battlefield. You don't earn the opportunity to fight on the battlefield just because of your imperial blood. In fact, it's even more challenging for a regular prince to be granted that privilege," Kendrick explained, grabbing a wooden flask and taking a refreshing sip of water.
"Break time is over, everyone gather up," John announced, as their assigned beasts emerged onto the training ground, lining up beside their respective handlers in an orderly fashion.
With a sharp clap of his hands, Sir Beaumont addressed the group, "LET'S GET STARTED WITH BEAST TRAINING, SHALL WE? I MUST WARN YOU, AS THE HEAD OF THE GRAND DUKE'S KNIGHTS, MY TRAINING WILL BE FAR MORE DEMANDING THAN ANYTHING YOU EXPERIENCED UNDER THE GRAND DUKE YESTERDAY."
True to his word, Sir Beaumont's training proved to be even more challenging. Unlike the Duke, who would guide the soldiers through their difficulties, Sir Beaumont pointed out the issues and encouraged the soldiers to find solutions on their own. This approach proved difficult for many of them. Once the soldiers managed to mount their beasts, Sir Beaumont pushed them to try moving and coordinating with their newfound companions.
The soldiers from the aerial cavalry and mage divisions faced the greatest struggles during this training, as their beasts were specifically designed for aerial combat.
The session continued for another hour before Sir Beaumont concluded the training, prompting John to call it a day. The soldiers were already fatigued, making battle training impractical at that moment.
"I believe we should postpone battle training until we can handle our mounts without exhausting ourselves," John suggested. "Once we can ride safely without becoming tired, we will commence battle training. Until then, focus on gathering your mana and becoming as strong as possible. No amount of technique and training will save you against an incredibly powerful enemy. For now, ATTENTION!" he commanded, his voice reverberating across the training grounds. "DISPERSE!" he added, and the soldiers marched in perfect synchrony out of the training area before dispersing to their respective rooms.
"Those guys are absolute monsters...and this guy too," Briggs muttered, glancing at his roommate who sat with crossed legs, calmly gathering mana. It seemed as if fatigue had no effect on him, much like their unit leader and his right-hand man, Frederick.