"Everyone gather in the training yard now! Break time is over!" Coach Alex shouted as he climbed the platform, announcing the end of the break.
Ravina and I got up from our places and went to the middle of the yard. After everyone had gathered, the coach spoke.
"Now the second training session of the day will begin, and it will be the last one."
'Only two! Isn't that a bit easy?'
I wasn't the only one who thought so; most of the recruits with me shared the same sentiment.
"The second training session will consist of a lecture given by Coach Andrew. The lecture will last 5 hours, and afterward, you will run 100 laps in the yard and then go to sleep. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," everyone replied, crying. The people in this world were not used to studying and such things, so a five-hour lecture seemed like hell to them.
We headed to the lecture hall and I sat in a seat in the middle of the hall, with Rafina sitting to my right.
"Are you trying to flirt with me? Know that sitting next to me is not enough."
I said with a smile towards Ravina, who had sat next to me.
"Ha ha! Very funny, Mr. Caden Mort, and besides, a woman like me doesn't flirt with others, others flirt with me."
Ravina spoke confidently, pushing her hair, which was on her shoulders, back.
I turned my attention back to Coach Andrew, who now stood on the platform.
"First, welcome everyone. I'm Coach Andrew, responsible for the lectures."
Andrew appeared to be in his late thirties with a slightly slim body.
"Today, I will explain to you the military ranks and their responsibilities."
"The army is divided into 7 ranks."
"The first rank, which is the lowest in the army, is the single star."
"The responsibilities of this rank are generally guard duty, simple tasks, and city defense. Ninety percent of the army holds this rank."
"Next is the slightly higher rank, which is the two stars."
"The responsibilities of this rank are the same as those of the single star, but they are responsible for the single star and report mistakes to the higher ranks."
"The three stars are the trainers like myself and Coach Alex. As you can see in the three stars, a person can either go on to fight monsters in the vanguard or be a trainer at the fort. Of course, this rank has more responsibilities, but I won't go into details."
After he paused to drink a glass of water because he was thirsty from all the talking, not everyone was paying attention to the lecture because perhaps they knew this information, but it was the first time I had heard it, so I stayed focused throughout the lecture.
"The fourth star is responsible for the fort in general, for distributing soldiers in the vanguard, and of course, each person in the fourth star has their own responsibilities."
"The fifth star, from this rank and above, are the higher ranks of the army. There are only ten people in this rank, and they are generally responsible for the security of the entire kingdom."
"The sixth star, there are only four people in this rank. They are all well-known and have big names. They are generally responsible for the entire army."
"And finally, the seventh star, the general commander of the army. He is the strongest person in the world and second in rank in the kingdom after the king."
'The strongest person in the world? Seven stars? Isn't this the person I met 10 years ago?'
I remembered the person I met 10 years ago who helped me carry Jaron.
'So that overwhelming presence I feel now is the strongest person in the world.'
I thought as I looked in the direction where I felt the presence of a strong person, even though it was far from here.
I calmed my heartbeat and continued listening to the lecture.
After 5 hours, the lecture ended and I learned many useful things from it.
"And also, there is a book in the library about monsters and their types. I hope everyone reads it well because there will be a test on it tomorrow, and anyone who fails the test will be severely punished. Now go to the yard and run 100 laps."
Before we left, Coach Andrew informed us about the test tomorrow, and I saw that some recruits' spirits had left their bodies.
I didn't care about that and went to the training yard, finished 100 laps quickly, and returned to the dormitory to shower and sleep.
The next morning, I woke up before sunrise and went to the library to read the book that the coach had told us about.
I asked the librarian where the book was, went to its location, and took a copy. The library had only two other people besides me and the librarian, so I sat in the nearest place and lit a candle to read by its light.
When I sat down, I noticed the person sitting to my left, and started cursing my luck.
It was the young man with white hair and golden eyes whom I met yesterday and who had pointed his sword at me at the gate.
'What bad luck! I'll pretend I didn't recognize him and continue reading.'
But it seemed he didn't want to ignore me and came to sit next to me.
"Hello! I apologize for yesterday, but my body moved on its own because I sensed your anger."
"It's okay, no problem."
"Let me introduce myself, I'm Leonardo, 17 years old, and I live in the outer city."
Leonardo extended his hand to shake mine after introducing himself, so I shook his hand with my right hand.
"Caden Mort, 18 years old, I also live in the outer city."
'Man! If you want to lie and say you're from the outer city, at least change your obvious hair color.'
I thought as I looked at the smile that filled his face.
"Okay, excuse me for the interruption. It seems you're reading the same book I'm reading. Do you mind if we study together?"
"I have no problem as long as you don't distract me from studying."
"Don't worry, when it comes to studying, I am very serious."
'What an idiot! All the residents of the outer city do not know how to read and write, at least research this.'
I didn't correct him and we started reading together.
Most of the monsters in this book I had encountered before, but there were some types I saw for the first time.
'This book categorizes monsters by their strength into nine ranks.'
'Monsters are classified from one star to nine stars.'
'One-star monsters can be easily killed by a one-star soldier.'
'The strongest monster recorded is a nine-star monster called "Vendrick," discovered 200 years ago, and no one has been able to kill it.'
I started looking for a specific monster I wanted to know about badly, but there was nothing recorded about it in this book.
I continued studying and answered a few questions that Leonardo asked me until the morning came and we went to breakfast.