After another delicious breakfast courtesy of the hot-tempered cook, the trainees soon got to work and began their daily exercises.
Already accustomed to the routine, there were fewer groans and complaints which caused the Instructor's glee to dim a little.
Set after set after set. The novices who wished to undergo the Awakening Ceremony poured their hearts out into the exercises they were performing. They did not want to regret not giving it their all.
With a ton of resolve, buckets of sweat rolling down their faces, and masks of steely determination, the trainees worked furiously, attempting to temper their bodies.
After a grueling period of strain, William reluctantly stopped their workout. He cleared his throat with his hands behind his back, standing in front of the batch of trainees with a solemn expression. "For those of you who are going to be training with a different instructor in weapon mastery, I will use this brief rest to give you a quick briefing."
Several trainees' ears perked up, already forgetting about their sore bodies. All thoughts trained on what the Instructor would say next.
"For those of you training in the Axe and Hammer, you will meet your instructor in front of the three Ancient Statues. Same with those of you who have chosen the Bow or Dagger. Lastly, those who have picked the Spear will meet your instructor at the front gate." After a stern warning from the white-haired instructor informing them to behave with their new instructors or else, the trainees got back to work.
After more pain, sweat, and exertion, the young teens completed their workout. Lying spread-eagled on the floor, Nico gasped for air. His lungs worked in overdrive to send air to the rest of his body.
His heart hammered rapidly in his chest.
Next to him, Henry's entire visage appeared worn out. Clouds of vapour escaped in intermittent bursts from his mouth. His Camp Uniform stuck tightly to his lean figure.
The raven-haired boy clenched his jaw. "It hurts! Why do we have such a devil as an instructor?"
Henry wanted to shed some tears but found that he didn't even have the energy to do that. Just great, he muttered.
Leon, meanwhile, just lay on his back, gazing at the dreary clouds that blanketed the sky. A peaceful expression on his face.
The only sign that he had at least exerted himself was the thin film of perspiration that matted his forehead.
To an unsuspecting eye, they would think that the half-blood had breezed through the workout.
The same unsuspecting eye would then gaze at the pot-bellied youth a few meters to the right and judge them critically, unaware of the effort he was putting in.
Giving his trainees a few more minutes of rest and recovery, the white-haired instructor soon urged the throng to split and travel to their respective Weapons Instructors.
Nico groaned as he begrudgingly stood up.
The ten-minute break somewhat restored his ability to stand up on both legs.
'Time to go to the front gate. But before that, I need to get a weapon.'
Taking a quick detour, the boy entered the Weapons Pavilion, grasped the first spear in sight, and with hurried steps made haste to meet his new instructor.
***
'That damn vindictive bastard. How long is he going to keep me here on standby?'
Seated cross-legged at the entrance of the Training Camp, Phantom scowled. His bushy eyebrows knit together to form a set of miniature wings.
Safe to say, he was pretty pissed.
Imagining all the art he could have made in his time spent waiting only further stoked the raging fire kindling inside him.
Phantom gritted his teeth and cursed William for the hundredth time.
Although his old acquaintance had convinced him to arrive at the Camp a day later with the promise of some rare art supplies, Phantom was initially reluctant to teach anyone his Spear Art.
Never mind the fact that he would just be giving away his life's work for free, while whoever lucky bastard he was going to teach received a battle-hardened and polished technique on a silver platter, he feared he would spend most of his time carefully guiding the youth.
Again, precious time that he could use to hone his skills in painting!
Alas, that sneaky former Squadmate of his ensnared him into accepting the job with the reward of using his contacts in the Academy to give Phantom more resources that he could use to express his marvelous creativity.
A resigned sigh escaped the Spear instructor's lips. His hands itched to hold his beloved brush.
Grumbling to himself about the unfairness of life, Phantom shifted his gaze and studied his surroundings to help pass the time.
In front of him, a relatively wide path led forward into the heart of the Camp. Verdant pine trees swayed in the breeze on either side of the trail.
Phantom closed his eyes and tapped into his senses and became one with the wind.
'There!'
After a few seconds, his senses picked up a foreign sound. It differed from the melodic rustling of the trees.
It had a certain tempo to it… one that was more reminiscent of a bipedal being.
After a few more seconds, the Spear instructor exhaled lightly as his posture straightened.
The sound his senses had picked up was the rhythmic noise of approaching footsteps.
Someone was heading his way.
'It's about damn time! Just wait until I give you a piece of my mind!'
Phantom had no sympathy for the poor trainee. It was just their rotten luck they had William as their instructor.
However… all his negative feelings vanished in an instant once his student's figure came into view.
Phantom's mouth turned agape.
'How…'
Making his way towards him was a lanky boy with an unremarkable height. The black Camp uniform hung loosely to his slender body, fluttering lightly in the wind.
Slowly moving his gaze upwards, the Spear instructor's dumbfounded look only increased.
Tendrils of brown hair fell down from the boy's head covering one-half of his face. One unexposed maroon eye stared back at him placidly.
However, what immediately caught Phantom's attention was the jagged patch of discoloured skin on the trainee's temple.
It stood in stark contrast to the boy's unassuming visage.
'Such symmetry… such youth! Such trauma!' Phantom gasped internally and squealed like a little girl. He had just found his newest test subject!
Imagining all the portraits he could draw of the brown-haired trainee; Phantom immediately changed his tune. His artistic side was screaming at him to capture the youthfulness and innocence of the lanky teen.
The slight hollowness of the boy's eyes only added to his growing delirium.
A menacing smile formed on the man's face.
Nico, who was subject to that gaze almost tripped.
'What's with this guy?'
Suddenly remembering William's warning back in the infirmary, he paled. A sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Multiple shivers crawled down his spine in quick succession.
Subject to the intense gaze of his new instructor, Nico felt completely naked.
'The hell?'
Nico blinked as he continued to make his way toward Phantom, albeit with extreme reluctance. After he had retrieved a spear, he bid Henry and Leon goodbye and began traveling to the entrance of the Camp.
Along the way, he couldn't help but fantasize about the training he would receive.
Nico envisioned himself diligently practicing a set of Spear strikes before completely wiping the floor with an imaginary foe, in a manner similar to that of a dignified war veteran.
He had expected his Spear instructor to be a little gloomy, if not a little taciturn. Which was fine if he made progress in his training.
That was all that mattered to Nico, anyway.
What he did not expect, however, was for the complete opposite to happen.
Hell, he hadn't even talked to Phantom yet and he could already imagine what a massive pain in the backside he was going to be!
Goosebumps appeared on Nico's skin as he continued walking one step at a time. A subtle tremor travelled through his legs.
Thirty seconds later - what seemed to feel like two centuries to Nico - he finally arrived within a talking distance of his new instructor.
The boy finally got a look at the 'unique' Phantom.
Seated cross-legged on the ground, what immediately caught Nico's attention was the dark eyepatch that covered Phantom's left eye. The image of two inverted swords crossing each other adorned its surface.
The instructor's posture was straight. He unconsciously exuded a sharp aura that could even cut the wind in two.
The air of a seasoned warrior swirled around him ominously, giving a glimpse of the fate of those who had crossed Phantom's spear.
Apart from that, nothing else from his instructor's rugged beard, bushy eyebrows, and angular face struck Nico as something that stood out greatly.
Gazing into the man's cold, blue eye that sparkled in contrast to its icy, unapproachable visage, the brown-haired trainee shivered for the second time.
The hairs on his body stood on end now that he was in much closer proximity to Phantom.
'Surely, he doesn't swing that way. Right!?'
Having a second look at his instructor, Nico's face paled even more. Why did it have to be like this?
Why did such a bestial-looking warrior have such a unique personality?!
"H-hello, S-sir." Nico stammered.
Broken out of his stupor, Phantom's one good eye blinked, before a large grin broke out on his face. "Nico, right?"
After seeing his student hesitantly nod, the man continued unfettered by the strangeness of the boy's actions. "Excellent! Excellent!" Phantom's gaze slowly examined Nico's figure from head to toe.
"What a fine specimen you are!"
The brown-haired boy stumbled backward, a look of pure horror painting his face.
'No, no, no. What does he mean by that?!'
Nico recovered from his earlier stumble and inhaled, trying to compose himself. His whole body tensed wishing to bolt away from the nefarious clutches of his instructor.
"Ah, I heard about your incident with the heir of the Stanburg Family. Good job, by the way! Those haughty bastards think they rule the world just because of a measly above-average bloodline." Phantom's cheery expression vanished, replaced by that of undisguised malice.
It seemed his instructor had a bone to pick with the Stanburg Family just like Nico did. The drastic change in Phantom's disposition threw the brown-haired boy off guard for a moment.
Nico saw the man's face darken briefly as an angry scowl took hold of his features.
A second later, Phantom shook his head and released a deep sigh. Using his spear as a cane, the instructor stood up and patted the dust from his clothes.
Straightening his posture, Phantom shifted his gaze to his student as his eyes twinkled slightly with mirth.
Turning around, he began walking toward the East Leaf Wilderness. His lips slowly curled up into a subtle smirk.
"Come along little hen. It's time for your slender body to be put to good use."