The next two weeks were all the same. Going to class, some people recognizing him from the cafeteria previously and trying to conceal their laughter, eating, training, and cleaning up. Hagan was content with the speed he was progressing with his sword skill, obviously no practice can accurately prepare you for real combat but still, he felt confident he could kill.
Hagan learned multiple things in his Wilderness Survival class such as how to build a fire, how to keep said fire alive, how to make a bed, how to cleanse water by evaporation, and a couple other basic skills. He didn't learn anything significant about the Gods and didn't expect to until he Second Trial.
The hardest part of the daily routine, surprisingly, was sleeping. He would still see the dreadful dragon in his dreams and experience the primal fear that came with it, only this time he didn't jump out of bed and hit his head on the floor. He already noticed that the traumatizing experience wouldn't affect him forever as he was finally able to sleep for two full nights in a row.
There was one occurrence where Professor V displayed a picture of a dragon to the class and Hagans usual stoic expression was threatened by a cold sweat and an illusory pain attacking his right leg and left arm.
Sadly, Hagans routine was ruined by the winter break approaching. At the end of the week, the school would close. The school would reopen three weeks later after the new year started.
Friday afternoon rolled around and Hagan had to collect his few belongings and head back to his former, hellish home. He went back to the park he visited before the First Trial and sat down on a bench facing the opposite direction, watching the fake sun set once again. The park had almost no right to be called one, there was one tree that was barely surviving alone in the center with 2 X's made of dead twigs protruding from the ground. A few pieces of swings or play grounder that had been long broken littered the ground. The air was murky as always, pollution littering the air, water, and streets alike.
Few people ever managed to make it out of the slums, some who did thanks to the Trials ended up dying in a later Trial. Some who managed to save up enough money to get an apartment in a better area got safer jobs or a similar one that paid slightly higher.
Once the sun nearly disappeared, Hagan got up and walked toward where he lived. He approached a partially collapsed building and walked inside. Considering the area, his place was relatively nice. The building he used was supposed to be a high end apartment complex that the city started building in order to expand but ended up collapsing due to a lackluster workforce.
The floor was made of smooth synthetic wood, the walls had a light gray wallpaper that was torn in many places. There were no holes in the walls, ceiling, or floors but with most of the building collapsed, he suspected that it might crumble some day. There was a sink, oven, and bathroom… with no power supply so they were useless, but he still liked the idea of at least having them.