Chapter 196 - Training (2)

After having received the directions from the man behind the desk Jien did not hesitate to make his way toward the door with the others in toe. Some of them were curious why they were only reserving the field for half the day. Robyn, being the one who was most open to ask broached the topic with a casual tone. Jien's response was matter of fact but left those who couldn't immediately think of the reason rather stunned. "We can practice in different roles for all the remaining days, but we won't know if one is better than the other unless we truly test those dynamics in combat."It was Alys who spoke up next as if trying to wrap her head around how that would work if they were giving up the training area mid-way through. Jien patiently continued with his explanation, simply stating that they would not need the training area if they challenged others in theirs. Andrew shyly chipped in with a simple question, his tone coming out something like a mix of a squeak and a whisper. "Why not just have Julie fight us as we rotate positions to understand which ones best suit us?"The question was fair and well thought out, but Jien responded just as quickly, showing his level of forethought on the matter even after only having met them. "We wouldn't be able to determine what the proper fit is if we just fought Julie. She has one fighting style and even if she varied it to some degree we wouldn't get a full variety of different types of combat. We need to experience a variety of battles, the larger the variety the better."Jien paused there to let the explanation sink in before he casually added while looking at the rough looking girl just behind him. "That doesn't even cover the fact that we need Julie to experience as many roles as we can to truly figure out where she fits best within our team. I feel that the academy system wouldn't have placed her with us if she couldn't work well with our unit." Julie snorted with a look of contempt over his targeting of her with the statement. To her they had already discussed what they were going to do regarding her position in the unit. Just because he seemingly wanted to test her before approving didn't mean that it wasn't already a done deal in her mind.There were nods of approval from Jien's friends regarding his choices. They had only learned what positions truly worked for them after having had many fights with their mentors, encountering a vast selection of different strategies and fights of varying difficulty. Alys, Robyn and Andrew all showed hints of understanding after this explanation, their eyes brightening slightly but a slight chill running down their spines. They would have to get used to it but combat would be a way of life going forward if they chose the military after graduation. Andrew had no experience, Robyn joining him in that category while Alys had only been a part of light skirmishes with her bandit of a father. Of the new member Julie had the most fighting experience by leagues but hers was not as a part of a team, making this exercise just as important to her as for the others.With that discussion out of the way they made it to their arena in relative silence, only the occasional short, casual discussion cropping up given the distance they had to walk. This time their arena was in a section of the city called an academy that was not far from those Jien had walked by when entering the academy the first time. Unlike those training fields the one that they were assigned to was in something that looked like a small coliseum. The structure was surrounded by simple stone walls, the training area was dug into the ground and paved steplike structures led down to the sand filled pit.The area was large enough to house four units of about ten to fifteen with room to spare along the edge to allow a fair amount of freedom. As Jien had expected there were already three groups in the other three quarters. One seemed to be a blend of those who appeared to fairly well taken care of leading Jien to feel they may be the children of merchants or minor nobles. Another were those that held themselves much like Alys did, showing a rough edge and a competency to fighting that matched Jien's internal image of a group of bandits or perhaps pirates, given how tanned some of them were and the fact that a few used weapons similar to tridents or harpoons in nature. The last group was one that had fascinated Jien since he had first seen them outside the academy gates. They were a group who all seemed to be missing a single arm, each wielding a sword in their remaining hands.This group seemed to have managed to stay together in full. While the others seemed to have some new characters mixed into their groups, mostly showing by how they didn't seem to line up just right with their teammates, this group showed a cohesion that looked truly professional in nature. They were currently practicing forms in near perfect sync, not focusing on military tactic but on something more artistic in nature. Jien couldn't help but keep an eye on them as they continued their forms, almost dancing on the sand.