After making sure that their hut looked presentable, Nico, Henry and Leon made their way to the Cafeteria.
"So, what do you think we're going to do today?" Henry asked as he limped slightly.
"Hmm… good question. I think we're probably just going to do some physical exercises. I doubt we'd move on to weapon mastery so soon." The brown-haired boy replied with a thoughtful expression. "What about you, Leon? What do you thin-?"
A loud grumble interrupted Nico mid-sentence. Looking to his right, he found the burly boy beside him clutching his stomach with an embarrassed expression. The tips of the redhead's ears turned red.
Nico laughed. His voice carried into the wind as a boisterous guffaw. Wiping the tears at the edge of his eyes, the brown-haired boy smiled in Leon's direction. He was grateful.
He hadn't laughed freely like that in a long time.
Hoping that the stocky boy could sense some of his emotions, Nico and his two companions ambled along. They passed by the three wooden cabins near the centre of the camp - the maroon-eyed boy made a mental note to ask William about them later - and sauntered along for a few minutes before stopping in front of a large grey canvas tent.
The scent of freshly cooked food wafted into their nose. Another loud grumble came from Leon's stomach. Nico hid his smile and entered the domed tent.
He saw wooden tables scattered across the space randomly. In the centre of the room, a large hearth crackled quietly. The smoke travelled up and out through a circular hole in the ceiling.
Standing directly in front of the fire, a plump woman stirred the food. She wore a white apron and chef's hat. Sweat slid down her brow. On the hearth, she had set up a huge metal bowl. The delicious aroma of freshly cooked porridge spread throughout the tent.
Nico found a queue had already formed. The trio quickly got in line. Their stomachs were screaming to be fed.
The cook had a permanent scowl on her face. Streaks of her black hair stuck to her face.
Scooping a generous portion of porridge with the ladle into a wooden bowl, she roughly pushed the dish into a trainee's hands with a grunt. The cycle repeated itself as the queue shuffled forward.
There were a few times when an especially prideful trainee was on the verge of snapping at the cook, but one look in the depths of her eyes promised a miserable fate. Cooks were not to be messed with.
Especially angry ones.
Soon, Nico received his own portion. The porridge sent wafts of heat upward that warmed his face. With a quick look around, the brown-haired boy chose a table in an inconspicuous corner.
Henry and Leon arrived a few moments later with steaming bowls in their hands. The trio sat down and began wolfing down their food.
A hubbub of conversation buzzed throughout the Cafeteria as the trainees talked, gossiped, and mentally prepared themselves for the gruelling session ahead.
Nico saw the pot-bellied youth from the day before get up and pick up a few sandwiches placed on a table near the blazing hearth for those who were still hungry. Snickers followed him wherever he went.
The brown-haired boy empathised with the larger boy's plight.
"Hey, Nico. What element do you dream of awakening?" Henry asked in between mouthfuls of hot porridge. Nico took a moment to consider his options. "I have no specific preference, to be honest. If I would have to choose, though, it would be between Lightning, Earth or Space."
The humble boy nodded in understanding. "I want to awaken the Light Element! With it, I can travel at extremely high speeds, heal myself or even launch devastating counter attacks!" Henry had spoken with such passion that his voice rose a note higher than he intended causing the trainees from other tables to hear what he had said.
The raven-haired boy blushed after feeling the surrounding stares bore into his skin. He wished he could dig a hole and hide. A few of the students sitting beside Lucas near the centre of the tent sent disdainful sneers in Henry's direction.
It was as if they were saying how dare a dirty peasant dream of awakening the Light Element when even they - proud scions of noble families - couldn't guarantee to possess such a fearsome power.
It had to be known that apart from the five Fundamental Elements - Fire, Water, Wind, Earth and Metal - the Sub-elements increased in rarity.
The Light Element was at the top of that list as an extremely rare Sub-element, such that it wasn't uncommon for several years to pass by before a new Light Element wielder appeared.
If a human or… a member of any other race awakened such an element - bar the Elves who had the most Light Element users because of their occupation as healers - they would find their standing in society rise many-fold.
To the degree that the top Academies in the Immortal Reach would vie with each other to have them as their student.
It was a big deal.
"However, supposedly quite a few of the Awakening cases are hereditary, where a person has a significant chance of awakening the same Element as their parents. Awakening the Light Element is but a pipe dream for me. Even more so, since my parents are but humble peasants," Henry mumbled sadly under his breath.
Nico ignored the mocking of the other apprentices and comforted Henry. Looking across from him to the broad-shouldered half-blood, he smiled. "What about you, Leon? What element do you wish to awaken?"
The burly male hesitated. "I-I wish to awaken the Fire and Metal element. It would help me improve my smithing abilities and become one of the best crafters in the world." Leon's voice came out as a soft whisper, not at all like the gruff tone the brown-haired boy had imagined it to be.
It wavered at the beginning but become more resolute when the boy had mentioned blacksmithing. Nico saw sparks of determination ignite in the redhead's eyes.
'So that's his goal, huh?' the lanky boy mused internally. It did not surprise him that his new companion sought to reach the peak of crafting. With the dwarven blood running through his veins, the brown-haired boy would have expected nothing less.
Dwarves possessed an incredible mind and passion for crafting that made up for their lack of stature. It wasn't uncommon for their ingenuity to have reached the remote corners of the world.
Their creativity had reached such a point that the other major races and even the Descender Association scrambled to make a deal with them. Even if they had to agree to unfavourable terms, they were determined to get their hands on high-quality armour, weapons or defensive infrastructure.
Nico nodded.
It was a respectable goal.
Having wiped the bowl clean of any porridge left, Nico sighed issued a content sigh.
'That was delicious.'
Although the cook was a bit on the aggressive side, he couldn't deny that she could make a damn good breakfast.
The brown-haired boy got up from his seat and placed his empty bowl on a tray filled with dirty dishes. Making his way out of the tent, with Leon and Henry by his side, the trio headed to the bathroom to freshen up.
The time had come for their first proper training session!