Finn stared at his empty bowl of bland gruel, exhaustion weighing heavily on him. He had asked Derek how long it had been—five relentless days of grueling training.
Despite the medicinal baths, Finn's body was still sore. Their grades hovered in the A to high B range. He had spoken to Xiao, who revealed he had one strong roommate, but the other two had been sent to the infirmary. Finn imagined they were living comfortably there, away from the brutal training. Xiao was now getting high C grade baths despite his and his remaining roommate's A marks; a full room was necessary for the best benefits. The lingering soreness in Xiao's body told Finn all he needed to know—the higher-graded baths made a significant difference.
Finn's exhaustion ran deep. The training had escalated from whippings to brutal beatings and intense sparring sessions with the masters themselves. Each session was a ruthless lesson in identifying and correcting openings and flaws. Finn had bled and bruised, but progress came at a high cost.
Sparring with the other races added another layer of challenge. The Ursox, lacking agility and dexterity, were incredibly strong and could absorb many punches. The Vorath, like wolverines, were relentless. They were nimble but lacked significant strength, yet their tenacity made them formidable opponents. Humans like Finn and Xiao could exploit their joint weaknesses and pressure points, but grappling with an Ursox was a mistake Finn had learned the hard way.
Two days ago, an Ursox had caught Finn in a grapple, breaking his arm with a sickening snap. The pain had been excruciating, but Finn refused to fall over and surrender, finishing the remaining four hours of training with a broken arm. He had seen that if you finished training with a grueling injury like a broken bone, aid would be offered, and you wouldn't lose medicinal strength. A master had even reset the bone before Finn entered the bath, an excruciating process but necessary for proper healing.
Lyrian and Zorak's training involved electrical shocks and punches to the ribs as punishment instead of a whip, leaving them with more than one fractured rib from their master's strikes.
Fighting among students had become commonplace on the way to and from class. The four had to escort each other for protection. Lyrian's and Zorak's area was close to theirs.
Apparently, beating up members of other rooms allowed you to gain their bath's medicinal strength. Lyrian and Zorak had been cornered by two different rooms and, despite beating half of the six attackers, had been overwhelmed by sheer numbers and left unconscious.
Servants carried the losers to their baths, resulting in a 2 full grades, one grade per student, drop in bath strength. That had happened this morning, and now the four looked at each other with resolve. They knew what they needed to do—they were going to make an example out of the two rooms.
The goblin fight was due in two days.
Finn took a deep breath, feeling the weight of this harsh world where only the strong were respected. He steeled himself with a newfound determination. He would do whatever it took to be free, to choose his own path. And if anyone stood in his way, he would destroy them.