C300 - Questions
A few battles followed the woman's fight, but the recruits stopped stepping forward after seeing the best warriors in their year losing and suffering injuries. They didn't leave the hangar, but they found no point jumping into a situation that could leave them badly wounded.
Khan could play the Lieutenant's card and convince some of those recruits to go against the beast anyway, but that would be pointless. He couldn't teach if his students didn't want to learn, which was somewhat acceptable. He had never expected his class to be popular in the first place.
The six recruits who had the courage to go against the Tainted ape were meditating on the lawn outside the hangar. They opened their eyes from time to time to check on the lesson, but their injuries remained their main focus. Their condition wasn't too poor, but they would definitely benefit from a trip to the medical bay.
Instead, most of the other recruits were clearly scared. Tremors ran through their bodies whenever Khan looked at them. They didn't want to refuse his orders, but fighting the Tainted ape was out of the question.
A few recruits had even worn cold expressions. They had developed a proper disgust toward Khan's teaching methods, but he didn't care about their opinions. He didn't even bother to address it.
"Is that it?" Khan asked while facing the row of recruits. "Is there no one else who wants to experience the terror of the battlefield?"
The recruits diverted their gazes. They didn't know what to expect from the madman in charge of the subject, and they didn't want their actions to worsen their situation.
"Good, no one should have the desire to experience that," Khan laughed before turning toward the insides of the hangar. "Come, come, and help your wounded companions. There won't be other battles today, but I still need to make a speech."
The recruits followed Khan's orders and gathered around him when he sat next to the cage. They formed a half-circle and made sure to place their injured companions in the front rows, but their attention often went on the angry Tainted ape screaming from the other side of the transparent surface.
"I think the purpose of my subject is clear by now," Khan exclaimed once everyone took their place on the floor. "You aren't bad, especially you six. I'm sure you will do great inside the army, but the universe is full of dangers, and you aren't ready to face them."
Most of the recruits in the hangar had seen blood for the first time in Khan's lesson, and almost everyone had understood the harsh truth that he had tried to teach. Many didn't like his methods, but they had to admit that they had been effective.
"Many of you have enough backing to avoid the battlefield forever," Khan continued. "Still, Istrone has proven that your wealth can't protect you when it matters. I have been the poorest recruit during the Kred's rebellion, but it's thanks to me that the Global Army managed to send reinforcements before the situation worsened even more."
Khan fell silent for a few seconds. He let the recruits absorb his words and accept the reality of the situation.
"I know I can come out as ruthless," Khan revealed, "But that same ruthlessness has allowed me to survive on Istrone, prove myself on Nitis, excel on Ecoruta, and win the tournament on Onia.
"I'm not asking you to become me. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Yet, I think I have something worth teaching, something that might save your life one day. I can't force you to attend my lessons, but I suggest you do, even if you don't join the various exercises."
Khan did his best to convey his honest desire to prepare those recruits for the worst, and many understood that. His tone carried a faint sadness that was almost impossible to miss. He was only seventeen-year-old, but he had seen more than most soldiers twice his age.
"You won't fight the Tainted ape during my next lesson," Khan explained, "But I'll still try to break your confidence. I'll try a safer method to make sure that everyone can experience what I want to teach, so attend it before deciding to ditch my subject."
Khan smiled, but his gesture didn't reassure anyone. He was a big deal in the Global Army right now, so the recruits wanted to do well with him, but his standards seemed impossible.
"Well, I don't have anything else for today," Khan laughed. "You can go if you want unless you have something to ask. I'll try to be as honest as possible."
The young man who had been the first to face the Tainted ape raised his arm, and Khan nodded at him. The recruit cleared his throat a few times before voicing a question. "Sir, do we get grades for this subject? How do we know if we passed?"
Many nodded at that question, and Khan recalled that he had forgotten to explain that part. His subject was an extra in the normal education provided by the Global Army, so it didn't have explicit benefits.
"You'll pass when you can kill the Tainted ape," Khan explained. "I can't give you grades that have relevance to your education. I guess being prepared for the battlefield isn't enough as an incentive, right?"
No recruit nodded, but Khan saw their desire to do that. He chuckled playfully as he scratched his head. He didn't actually think about that, but it didn't take him long to come up with a solution.
"What do you think about a written recommendation?" Khan asked. "I think I'm famous enough to give value to something like that."
"Will the recommendation describe our personal qualities?" The woman with two short swords questioned.
"Sure, anything you want," Khan immediately agreed. "I'm not great with that stuff, so just tell me what you prefer. I only want you to survive during a crisis or on the battlefield. You have no idea how easy it is to die there."
Khan's complete disregard for the political consequences and benefits that his subject would have left the recruits speechless. He was really trying to do something good there, which granted points to his image.
"How did you manage to do so well on Istrone, sir?" Another injured recruit asked.
"My mindset is different from yours since I come from the Slums," Khan laughed, "And I have my master's harsh training method to thank too. My element has also played an important role in my preparation since I mostly focused on my martial art before Istrone."
"Which was the worst battlefield in your opinion, sir?" The young woman from before questioned.
"They were all bad," Khan stated. "I guess Istrone hit the hardest since I had to kill for the first time there, but the others didn't make me feel good for sure."
"Are the Stal on Ecoruta as big as they say?" Another recruit asked.
"Most of them are as tall as the ape," Khan said while pointing at the cage. "Yet, they are easy to fight if you have spells or other ranged attacks. Their physical strength is a problem, but they are quite dumb."
"What about the Guko?" Another question resounded from the audience.
"They are emotionless aliens," Khan responded without hiding his displeasure. "They only act logically, so I don't have a great impression of them."
"And the Ef'i?" The audience continued.
"They are a good company if you earn their respect," Khan explained. "They are messy and loud, but definitely good. Still, keep track of their tails if you end up fighting them. Those limbs are dangerous."
The recruits continued with their questions about Khan's many adventures, and they even became more confident as he kept giving honest answers. Many also stopped adding "sir" to their lines, and Khan didn't scold them about that.
The questions grew more personal, and Khan did their best to answer them. He tried to depict the cruelty and chaos of the battlefields he had seen in great detail. He didn't hide anything, no matter how gruesome an image could be.
"Why did you go on Ecoruta after Nitis?" A recruit eventually asked.
"I needed to clear my head," Khan responded while wearing a fake smile. "Though jumping in another battlefield isn't a great move, so don't imitate me."
"Was that about your girlfriend?" The woman with two blades asked.
Khan's fake smile couldn't help but freeze. Liiza was still a tough topic for him, but he didn't want to create a wall between him and his students, so he forced an answer out of his mouth. "Yes, it was about her."
The recruits' eyes lit up, and many opened their mouths or began to raise their hands, but no one ended up speaking. They realized that their next questions would have been too personal, especially after Khan had admitted how much Liiza had mattered to him.
The hangar fell silent. The recruits had gained a general idea of what Khan had gone through after Ylaco, so they only had questions that they didn't dare to voice in their minds.
Khan preferred to avoid waiting until the questions reached Liiza. He clapped his hands and jumped on his feet before giving his last order of the day. "Go back now. The lesson is over, and I hope to see you all in the next one. As I said, try to come before making your mind about my subject. Also, I'll answer your questions again even if you don't join the exercises, but let's keep them on the battlefields and similar topics, okay?"
The recruits understood the message and stood up to perform a military salute. Then, they left the hangar, and Khan finally had the chance to retrieve his phone to add a few notes.
Khan had the list of his students on his phone, and he could add personal impressions that no one could read. His packed schedule would make his days full, so he had decided to update his notes after each lesson.
Dinnertime had arrived, so Khan stuffed his stomach in the canteen before returning to his flat. The soldiers would take care of the Tainted ape, and Cora didn't ask to see him again that day, so Khan could dive into his training.
His goals were clear in his mind. Khan wanted to master his remaining techniques through the two training methods and improve his overall foundation.
The "simulated mental battle" could make the training halls redundant, and the [Blood Vortex] was necessary to become a second-level warrior quickly. Hence, Khan focused on his training methods for most of the night. His next lesson would be in two days, so he could go all-out now.
The only distraction that night came from Amber. She sent Khan a message to ask him about his first lesson, and he didn't mind taking some time off to answer her.
'No one died, so I think it went well,' Khan replied.
'I'm starting to take pity on your students,' Amber said in her next message.
'Hey, I stopped everything after a few broken bones,' Khan responded.
'I was wrong. I'm already pitying them,' Amber joked.
'Come on. I think it went really well. They even asked many questions about Istrone and the other planets,' Khan texted.
'That's great, though I expected as much. You are their age. They must feel safe asking you that stuff,' Amber explained.
'I hope they stick around,' Khan revealed.
'I'm sure they will,' Amber reassured.
'Are you getting all cute on me because of yesterday's girl?' Khan teased.
'Are you implying that I'm not cute normally?' Amber asked.
'You win this round, Professor Teldom,' Khan admitted.
The two chatted for a few more minutes, but Amber eventually went to sleep. Khan continued to train all night, and he went for the canteen as soon as the sun rose. He met with Cora again, and she did her best to scold him when she heard that he didn't sleep at all.
Khan made Cora give up on the matter quickly. He had to accompany her back to her dormitory to reassure her, and the soldiers that saw them inevitably gave birth to gossips.
After leaving Cora in her dormitory, Khan went directly toward the training hall. He had nothing to do that day, so he planned to spend most of his time fighting puppets.
His day went exactly as planned. Khan left the training hall when it was almost dinner time. He was in desperate need of shower and clean clothes, so he returned to his flat instead of going directly to the canteen. Still, when he came out of the bathroom, he found more than twenty messages waiting for him on his phone.
'What the fuck?' Khan exclaimed in his mind when he started to read the messages. They all came from unknown profiles, but he recognized their last names. Many members of his students' families had contacted him to complain about his teaching methods.
To be continued