Chapter 157 - Years of Suffering

The seventh night was just the beginning. The mentors showed their pupils what they could do it they truly honed the very skills they currently had. Iris, the stern librarian of a teacher showed them what Barret would be capable of with just a bit more training, slipping into their camp unseen in broad daylight despite everyone being on the highest alert they could. Her steps were muted to the point that not even the slightest disturbance occurred from her steps.She alone dismantled the group of children using one simple blow to the nape of the neck per student, knocking them out cleanly. She did this with such speed and precision that before the first of them had collapsed they all had been sent to the land of dreams. When they woke up, they saw Iris, sitting calmly at the center of the camp, casually reading one of the books that Jien had gathered for their reading pleasure, several bags of varying supplies sitting next to her.As they finally woke, their heads pounding lightly, lifting their eyes to look at the mentor before them she nodded in their direction, snapping the book shut and laying it to the side on the log used as a makeshift bench. "This is impressive for a seven-day venture, but you appear to have focused mainly on a defensive format based on walls. This can be good, but it can also box you in. Likewise in the rush to set this base of operation up you did not set up anything that could target stealthy opponents, not even an alarm formation with a rudimentary backup."She stood up and grabbed one of the five large sacks around her and heaved it up to her shoulder in an easy manner, even though the sack itself was clearly heavier than she showed. "This will be my prize. Unlike your enemies we will give you the next three days to shore up your weaknesses." With that said she walked calmly out the same entrance that she had come in through with nobody able to stop her. It was an utter defeat that they couldn't begin to fully comprehend, leaving them to search their belongings to find a variety of items and supplies now missing.The difficulties continued coming. Each time they made advances in their situation, whether it was improving their base, adding to their prowess in how they stood guard, adding more resources, it seemed futile. Each advance was followed by an equal or greater setback in the form of their mentors attacking or raiding them.As they had been informed, their mentors never went beyond what their students could do themselves, restraining themselves almost perfectly. Yet their creativity in the use of those same skills often left Jien's cohort bewildered. This, however, did not stop them from quickly learning from their mistakes and improving by bounds that they hadn't felt possible just training back at home or even during their first year.Just like this the first year passed before the young heirs even realized it. Their camp by the end had extended so that one edge opened directly to the sea. There were multiple small layers with different defensive measures, separating the camp out into different working areas. Each of the members kept a personal supply of varying items so that even if some were stolen during a raid, they would have spares. They had begun to work more like a military camp, ensuring everyone had duties to perform and routines to follow, but also ensuring that these routines changed at odd intervals to keep their mentors from recognizing easy patterns.All in all, the mentors at the end gave them applause, knowing that it would definitely be harder to strike at their pupils with this level of strength. After their next break they returned and Mark informed them that it would be the same routine as the previous year going forward, but that they would now be using the knowledge of the most basic students that had attended the academy, the first years. He even went to say that the following year they would be working as if they were second years, so as to prepare their students.The announcement only brought a certain level of despair to Jien and his companions, but they didn't have a say in this matter. They knew that their mentors wouldn't cause them undo harm, but they also knew that starting this round they would have to put their best foot forward immediately, or they were going to find themselves in dire straits from the very beginning. They took their first steps back into the woods that haunted their nightmares with a steely look on their faces. The only thought in their minds was how far they would be pushed and how far they would grow from this experience.