Ashern City - Reinhart Institute of War, 2nd of Brightforge, year 315 UC
Bryan wiped sweat from his face with his shirt as he exited the training room, the morning's workout leaving him satisfied. The lobby was quiet, typical for five fifty-five in the morning. He had hoped to finish before anyone arrived, but—
"Good morning!"
Farrah him from across the lobby. She stood near the entrance in a simple blue and white training outfit. Her eyes widened slightly as she noticed his state of undress, but she recovered quickly, though her long ears twitched – that tell he was beginning to recognize.
"You're here early."
Bryan lowered his shirt, nodding once.
He would not say he was at ease with her around, but he did find her a lot easier to talk to compared to them. Maybe it was that her personality did not seem overbearing.
Also, he was trying to be a bit more friendly, although he was not sure exactly how that would look. He did not exude the 'friendliness' that people were so fond of.
"Been here since five-thirty."
She said as her eyes drifted just past him, to where Rebecca was.
"Five-thirty? That's... dedicated. Though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."
He commented.
She moved closer.
"I was hoping to get some practice in before the others arrived, but it seems you had the same idea."
Bryan noticed she carried a small bag that hung over her left shoulder. He doubted there would be any weapons inside, it was small enough that he could probably clench his fist around it.
'Probably clothes or something.'
"The holograms here are quite advanced."
She added, gesturing toward the training room he'd just left.
"Don't know what I was expecting though given the cost that went into this place. Did you notice that the windows in the bathroom rarely fogged? I mean, I like my showers hot but when I came out I didn't have to wipe the mirror."
"Can't relate, I take them cold."
Bryan said as he rolled his shoulder.
"Geez, you're like Randel. He once looked at an ice bath, used his power to see what would happen then jumped right inside without even being fazed. I swear."
She said casually as she waved her hand in front of her. It was a bit amusing to watch.
"You guys must be real close."
Bryan said.
Farrah smirked at that.
"Can't lie, he's my best friend and I can't wait for him to get here. But there are other times I can't stand him."
Farrah shrugged.
"What can you do though? That's how things go with friends. One moment you two can't stop talking, the next someone does something stupid and you both argue."
Farrah stopped talking and looked at Bryan for a moment.
"What about you? Anyone back home waiting for you?"
"Not really. I grew up around people older than me, so never met anyone my age."
Bryan answered.
"Well, that explains it."
Bryan raised an eyebrow at that.
"Nothing, it's just what makes you… you. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just back home in Dynosis people were always around one another. Although there was this older guy who was similar to you, you know?"
"No, I don't know."
Bryan said.
Farrah laughed a little.
"You know what I mean."
Bryan in fact did not know what she meant, but he decided to keep the conversation going.
"That's on the east coast right?"
He asked.
"Yup. I'm from the eastern district. The noble quarter, technically, though it's not as segregated as some cities. We have quite a mix of humans and elves there."
She smiled.
"Though our training facilities aren't quite this sophisticated. Most focus on basic combat scenarios rather than adaptive responses."
A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. Bryan moved to open it, finding Alexander and Sabrina waiting. They both wore workout clothes – shorts and light shirts – and carried small bags. Behind them, Christopher lay sprawled on the ground in similar attire, apparently asleep.
"Where's—" Farrah started.
"He was there when I arrived."
Sabrina cut in, grinning. Her usually bouncy hair was pulled back in a ponytail.
"Pretty sure he slept there all night. We found him like this ten minutes ago."
Alexander nudged Christopher with his foot.
"Come on, get up. We're already here."
Christopher groaned, opening one eye.
"Five more minutes..."
"Now."
Farrah's tone brooked no argument. Which surprised them.
"I hope you all brought a change of clothes?"
She added, eyeing their bags.
"Yes, mom."
Sabrina rolled her eyes good-naturedly.
Christopher sighed but stood, adjusting his shorts and grabbing his bag from where it had served as his pillow.
Once inside, Farrah approached the door leading to the training rooms.
"The training room cost is 500 AC per hour."
Alexander's eyes widened.
"That's insane! Maybe we should use the campus facilities instead?"
"It's fine."
Farrah pulled out her card.
"I can cover an hour, or we could split it – 100 AC each. Bryan's already been training. So I don't see the need for him to pay unless he wants to."
Sabrina observed, eyeing him curiously. She stretched, wincing slightly.
"How are you not exhausted from yesterday? I'm still sore in places I didn't know could get sore."
Bryan shrugged.
"Wasn't that bad."
"Speak for yourself."
Sabrina rolled her shoulders.
"I only came because we agreed to. Otherwise, I'd be wrapped in my blankets dreaming about not doing push-ups."
"At least you made it to your bed."
Alexander commented, glancing at Christopher, who had started to lean against the wall with his eyes closed again.
"Hey!"
Alexander raised his voice.
Christopher straightened.
"I was just resting my eyes. Besides, Larian's heating system is terrible. It was actually warmer out here."
"Sure it was."
Sabrina smirked.
"Nothing to do with getting lost again?"
Christopher's face reddened slightly.
"That was one time! And the hallways all look the same at night..."
Bryan raised an eyebrow at that, finding himself wondering how the boy got himself lost. Better yet, how did Sabrina know about it?
Farrah finished paying for the training room, turning back to the group.
"Shall we get started? I think we could all use a proper warm-up first."
"Some more than others."
Sabrina nudged Christopher, who had indeed started to doze again.
As they headed toward the training room, a door opened from another room. Julius Reinhart emerged in a black shirt that showed his defined muscles and black shorts. He paused briefly at the sight of them, his blue eyes scanning their group.
"Seems I'm not the only one who thought to get an early start."
He commented, passing by without further acknowledgment.
"Was that him being... nice? I can't get a read on him. I figured he would be to be the stuck-up type outside of the public eye."
Sabrina muttered once he was out of earshot, adjusting her ponytail.
"He's actually quite dedicated."
Farrah offered.
"I saw him coming to train late last night. Given his family, I would not be surprised if he trains every morning."
"Of course he does."
Christopher yawned.
"Probably does a thousand push-ups before breakfast too."
They walked into their own training room which was empty and had more than enough space to fit them all.
"So... what kind of training should we do?"
Alexander asked them.
Farrah stepped forward to stand in front of them.
"Let's keep it simple. We should get a feel for each other's fighting styles, maybe work on formations for the match."
She glanced around the room.
"I noticed some interesting settings on the control panel when I was given a tour of the place."
"The holograms here are good quality. They adjust to match combat strength in one-on-one duels."
Bryan found himself saying, recalling his morning session when he tried something new. The others turned to him, surprised at the voluntary input. Sabrina's eyebrows rose slightly, while Christopher actually opened both eyes fully.
"That's perfect!"
Alexander brightened.
"We should each take a turn. See how we all handle different situations."
"I'll go first!"
Sabrina stepped forward eagerly, stretching her arms.
"Before I lose my motivation to move."
Farrah nodded and moved to the panel that controlled the holograms.
Sabrina took her position in the center as the others moved back. The hologram materialized – a basic humanoid form. Sabrina grinned, dropping into a fighting stance.
She started off strong as a burst of magma lit up the room in orange light, but that was it. The hologram was faster than the ones they faced yesterday and dodged out of the way entirely. Her grin faltered as she dashed in to close the distance.
The fight that followed was more physical than magical, with Sabrina throwing punches and kicks that showed considerable martial arts training. The hologram matched her move for move until she finally landed a solid hit and eventually pinned it to the ground before plumbing it, causing it to dissolve.
"Damn, these things are fast."
She panted, wiping her forehead.
"I should have brought my sword."
Christopher commented as Sabrina rejoined them, still catching her breath.
"Would have been nice to know we'd be doing this kind of training."
"Afraid of a little hand-to-hand?"
Sabrina teased, taking a long drink from her water bottle.
Christopher snorted, moving to take her place in the center. He did not even tell them he was going up next, but no one moved to stop him.
"Please. The Vane family specialty isn't just earth magic."
Unlike before where he stomped the ground and tossed out rocks, this time he stood still as he bawled his fist. He caught everyone off guard as something unexpected happened – gray stone began creeping up his arms, forming a kind of natural armor. His movements were slow but when he finally landed a hit the hologram stumbled back and fell.
"That's new."
Alexander whispered to Farrah.
"Did you know he could do that?"
Farrah shook her head.
Alexander stepped up next after receiving his reply. Christopher did not even seem tired as he yawned and took his place among the others.
Water gathered around Alexander's hands as he faced the hologram. The construct charged, and Alexander managed to form a bubble of water around it.
"Got it!"
His victory was short-lived. The bubble burst as he tried to compress it, sending water spraying across the training room floor. Like the others, he resorted to physical combat, though his movements lacked the polish of Sabrina's martial arts or Christopher's power.
"Sorry about the mess."
He said afterward, gesturing at the wet floor.
"At least it's not magma."
Sabrina offered, earning a weak smile.
"Guess I'll go next. Mind starting it up for me Christopher?"
Farrah asked as she walked to the center.
Light gathered above her head into four small balls the size of grapes. They followed her as she dashed forward, and the hologram barely had time to react before she was already on top of it.
What followed was both beautiful and brutal – a combination of light magic and precise strikes that ended with an audible crack as she broke the hologram's neck. The entire exchange lasted perhaps ten seconds.
"That was..."
Christopher started.
"Efficient."
Sabrina finished, looking impressed.
"I wasn't expecting that, I think it adjusted itself to match Alexander's strength. Can I go again?"
Farrah asked as she came back to the group.
Alexander seemed to pale at the realization.
Byran chuckled to himself, watching the sight. If she did that to a hologram, he could only imagine what she could do to him if they fought.
Their battle would be legendary, and not the good kind either.
However, this was not good. If he had one more competent person then he could take them out systematically. Getting up close and personal when they weren't even using ether to enhance their bodies?
It would not end well in a real fight, and by the way the fights all ended they would get steamrolled facing another team.
They would, not him.
Sabrina was assigned the position of mage, which meant she should keep her range. And if she did not know how to do that then practice it, but she went head to head instead.
He sighed, the least he could do was offer them a bit of guidance.
"So we have a magma user who prefers fist fights, an earth mage who brawls, a water mage who can't maintain distance, and a light mage who breaks necks. There's a theme here."
He stepped forward, drawing his knife. A quick cut across his palm, a flash of crimson forming into a crescent blade, and the hologram dissolved into pixels almost as soon as it materalized.
"If everyone's fighting close range, I'll handle distance."
Silence followed his demonstration. Farrah's ears twitched – concern? Interest? He couldn't tell.
"I wasn't trained for support."
Alexander finally admitted.
"Honestly, I wasn't trained at all. I mostly just studied stuff, but I never thought I'd be using my magic for defense. I thought it could do something more fancy. Not… this."
"I always assumed I'd be a water or ice mage, so that's how I learned. Not like I've had much time experimenting with the new range and destructive power, but I guess I can sit still and look pretty."
Sabrina added.
"Look pretty, yeah, okay."
Christopher said as he laughed by himself.
"Someone said something?"
Sabrina used her pinky to clean her ears.
"Must not have heard correctly."
"So you have experience with water magic then?"
Bryan asked as he looked at her as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"You could help Alexander then, if you understand water techniques."
Sabrina paused what she was doing and she nodded.
"We definitely can't all be melee fighters."
Farrah mused, absently touching one of her ears.
"We should focus on our assigned roles. Maybe try team exercises? It might help us out more since anything can happen in a one-on-one duel."
Christopher perked up, seeming fully awake for the first time that morning.
"Is there a team mode?"
Farrah moved to check the console, her fingers dancing over the controls.
"We can generate multiple targets. It's not quite the same, but it could work."
"Let's try it."
Alexander suggested.
"Do we have time?"
Sabrina asked.
"If we need to shower, we can use our rooms and still make Alan's session."
Farrah assured her, already programming the simulation.
"Thank goodness."
Sabrina grinned, readjusting her ponytail.
"Because I refuse to smell like training room all day."