After that, silence descended on the infirmary as the trainees digested the feedback they had received from their instructor. All three wore contemplative frowns, ruminating over William's words.
Around a minute later, Nico cleared his throat and asked in a subdued tone, "How did Lucas take what happened in our last duel?"
The white-haired man scowled as his expression darkened. William's brows furrowed together recalling the noble's antics, "He… he did not take too well. His roommates - who are also nobles, mind you - were deathly afraid after finding his silence to be extremely unnerving. When I swung by his hut just before I came here, that bastard had an eerily calm expression on his face, as if he was planning something."
Nico nodded. His expression turned solemn. Whatever Lucas was planning, it was definitely not good.
He had to watch his back.
After the older man fell silent, Henry gritted his teeth and growled, "What is it people with them? Why can't everyone just live in peace? Are we commoners that much of an eyesore?"
The young farmer rubbed his temple. He would never understand the pride of a member of the nobility…. Something that made him very glad.
It was much better to live with no excess pride.
William shrugged, "It's more complex than that. Aside from the fact that most nobles have great ambition and seek to elevate their station, they are intertwined deeply in the political landscape of the Empire. With the large-sized noble houses holding most of the sway. The Royal Family occasionally depend on the Nobles to help them run the Empire smoothly, for example, using the Stanburg's in lessening the daunting task of protecting the borders."
"Another example is the monarchs using the Bellson Family to keep the Merchant Association in check and a potential ally in times of war… or utilising the Verparn Family, ensuring the influence of the Descender Association does not grow out of control and come back to bite them. So on and so forth. You get the gist."
Henry nodded in resignation, accepting that there were larger things at play and that Nobles were an integral part of the Royal Family's long-lasting rein and deep-rooted foundation of the Empire.
Another silence took hold, but it broke almost immediately. The source of the voice, the burly half-blood.
"Can you tell us about Lucas's evaluation?"
"I can't tell you much, since I have a duty as the one responsible for the Camp not to disclose any 'confidential' information, especially without said trainees' consent," The white-haired instructor sighed heavily, before continuing in an indifferent tone. "But, what I can tell you is that he is one of the top trainees with above-average combat power for a mundane human. I suspect the only reason that you and Nico drew with him was that he was arrogant and refused to use all his capabilities."
"Otherwise, I'm sure that either of you would have lost."
Leon blinked and furrowed his brows in deep thought. It seemed the chasm that existed between a noble and a regular person was quite the wide one.
Some would even say it was unsurmountable.
The half-blood sighed and shook his head. These thoughts would not do him any good.
"Alright, I will leave you guys to yourselves. I've said what I needed to say. Don't forget to meditate before going to sleep, you will definitely need it. Starting tomorrow, I will ramp up the intensity of the workouts."
The last thing the trio of trainees saw was the evil smirk of their instructor, before the white-haired man promptly left the infirmary.
Nico, Henry, and Leon cursed at the same time. A greater and more painful hell awaited them.
***
Time slowly passed. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes then turned to hours. Before Nico knew it, the time for lights out had arrived. Stopping his meditation, he sighed and gazed at the dark infirmary.
Night had well and truly taken over.
Having already received dinner courtesy of Kendra a couple of hours ago, Nico did not feel hungry.
Thus, he immediately headed to sleep.
Nico woke at the crack of dawn, groaned and rubbed his eyes to chase away any last remnants of sleep. He then stretched his body and found to his relief that the pain radiating from his clavicle had lessened.
A few minutes later, Kendra strode into the main room. She carried out a quick examination of Nico's state.
"You're good to go. Please, for the love of the Cleanser of Worlds, don't go injuring yourself again," the middle-aged healer sighed.
"I'll try my best." Nico replied. He did not want to make an empty promise.
He couldn't rule out the chance of injury, especially with the matters of combat and training.
Kendra sighed and shook her head. 'Youths these days.'
The healer stared at her patient, her lips curving up in a ghost of a smile, "Have fun, training."
***
Once Nico had a quick shower, he hurriedly made his way back to his hut and joined the trainees in their daily routine. Morning inspection followed by breakfast in the Cafeteria and then eventually they congregated inside the Exercise Square.
Along the way, many of the aspiring youths wore determined expressions on their faces, particularly those who had a sub-optimal performance in the duels the days before.
Those embarrassing losses had showed them what they had to work on.
Armed with that new knowledge, they resolutely poured more effort into their workouts. The pain of straining their body over its limits did not matter to trainees as long as they were getting stronger.
After all, surely one of them in the future would become an important figure in the drawn out conflict against the ghastly Demons.
Nico, who had just finished performing a set of pushups, wiped the sweat on his brows with the back of his sleeve. His chest rose and fell, a sign of the effort he gave. Yet the good thing was, that it was no longer erratic.
By now, Nico had vastly improved his endurance.
It was a far cry from the meager stamina he possessed at the beginning of the Camp.
"Alright, your one minute break starts now!" William's voice echoed across the square.
The trainee's sagged and dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. They focused on recovering their spent energy. Some chatted idly. Most, however, opted to remain silent and ensure that they were in good shape not to struggle through the rest of the workout.
"Break's over!" The white-haired instructor cheerfully intoned with his hands behind his back.
The trainees groaned and slowly stood up. It was only then that they noticed the lack of instructions from William.
A few of them sent a puzzled glance toward the older man, only to notice his broad grin.
The trainee's paled. What new thing had that devil of a teacher cooked up for them now?
William smirked, "Oh, what has got you people so quiet? Aren't young people your age supposed to be full of life?"
The white-haired male chuckled to himself noticing the blank stares his trainees' gave him. That look alone made up for the trouble of having to deal with the snotty Nobles.
Oh, how great life was!
Done with the jokes, the Head instructor's face quickly turned serious. He stepped to the side and allowed his students to glimpse the fate that awaited them.
An audible whine rang out in the square. Reflected in the trainees' eyes was a pile of heavy, weighted bands. The young teens slowly came to a horrid realisation as they cursed William in their hearts for the umpteenth time.
They were now expected to work out with weights burdening their bodies.
The instructor's dark chuckle reverberated in the trainees' ears. Their shoulders dropped as they reluctantly trudged over to the pile of new equipment.
They were in for an agonising ride.