First training
Morning in the indoor training arena. Instructor Van stood tall in the center of the room, his arms folded across his chest. His sharp gaze swept over the students lined up before him.
"Today we're focusing on small team training," he shouted. "Your formation will determine whether you can survive in the real world."
In the front row, Damian stood with Liam, Rin, Tessa, Elric, Nero, and Kaien Draymoor. There weren't many remaining students, but almost all of them possessed above-average strength. This made each training session feel more demanding, as if there was no room for even the slightest error.
Instructor Van lowered his hand, pointing to the first group.
"Kade, Draymoor, and Nero. You're the first team," he said.
Damian took a deep breath, his shoulders tensing slightly. He knew sooner or later he would be paired with Kaien again.
"It's me and him again..." Damian muttered softly.
Kaien glanced up briefly. A faint smile appeared on his face, whether genuine or just habitual.
"Do you mind?" he asked with a smile.
Damian stared back, then shook his head. "No. It's not that, but I suspect something's up because we're always grouped together."
Nero, standing beside them, glanced at them briefly, then grinned faintly. "As long as you two aren't a burden, I'm fine with it."
Damian just sighed, while Kaien remained calm and unresponsive.
Instructor Van observed the brief interaction with a flat expression, then gestured with his hand. "Get ready. The target is set. Show that you can work as a team, not just as strong individuals."
The first training session began.
A mechanical sound rang out from the arena walls as several magic dummies appeared in the center. The wooden dummies' eyes immediately locked on the three students standing in front—Damian, Nero, and Kaien.
The dummies immediately launched a barrage of fireballs at them.
Without hesitation, Damian stepped forward. He raised his hand, and in an instant, a dome-shaped wall of ice rose before them. The ice was cold, blocking the first fireball fired by the dummies. An explosion echoed, cracks appearing on the ice surface, but the barrier held firm.
Nero didn't hesitate. A thin shadow quickly crept from his feet, slithered into the ground, and grabbed one of the dummies by the leg. The creature stopped and was dragged violently, flung away.
Kaien, on the other hand, raised his hand with a calm motion. A glowing magic circle formed in front of him, its lines gleaming as if carved with light. From it, a large magical bird emerged, flapping its wide wings. With a single flap, a powerful gust of wind shot forward, pushing the two dummies backward.
Damian glanced up briefly, surprised by the new summons. "Birds can do it too, huh?" he said quickly.
Kaien responded with a small smile. "I don't just have wolves."
They refocused. Damian reinforced his ice wall to block the remaining attacks. Nero moved nimbly on the other side, shadows following his every step to fend off the puppets that tried to infiltrate. Kaien's magical bird flew low, sweeping the arena with gusts of wind that ravaged the enemy.
The cooperation seemed natural, as if they had been training together for a long time. Damian held his ground with a solid defense, Nero locked down the path with sharp shadows, while Kaien launched mid-range attacks with his summoned creature.
Within minutes, all the target puppets were destroyed, leaving only shards of metal and fading sparks of magical light.
Instructor Van stared at them for a moment, then nodded curtly. "Next team."
Damian lowered his hand, and the ice wall on the arena immediately cracked and disappeared. He glanced at Kaien briefly, but said nothing.
Break Between Shifts
The atmosphere in the arena calmed down slightly as the next training shift was prepared. The students sat on long benches at the edge of the field, some busy drinking, others chatting to relieve tension.
Elric, as usual, couldn't keep still and immediately approached Kaien. His eyes were sparkling, and his voice was so loud that several other students glanced over.
"Hey! You can summon wolves, and now birds too? Then imagine this: I make a bull golem, you summon a wolf, and then we have them race!" Elric said.
Several people immediately shook their heads, already accustomed to Elric's outlandish ideas. Kaien looked at him seriously, as if seriously considering the idea. After a few seconds, he nodded curtly.
"Interesting. But your bull has to be faster than my wolf," Kaien replied casually.
Elric was silent for a moment, as if digesting the answer, before bursting into laughter. His voice echoed throughout the arena.
"I like your way of thinking!" he exclaimed, patting Kaien on the shoulder.
Damian, sitting nearby, could only slap his forehead. "This is bad. We have two equally illogical people," he muttered, half-resigned.
Liam, sitting next to Damian, added wearily. "We have to be prepared for the chaos these two will bring from now on."
Rin, who had overheard the conversation, covered her mouth to hold back a laugh.
"If they really are making summoned beasts race, I don't want to be a judge," she whispered to Tessa.
Tessa nodded, her eyes glancing at Elric and Kaien, who seemed to be engrossed in their silly conversation. "I agree. Those two… are a dangerous combination."
The previously tense atmosphere slowly eased, and small laughs began to break out among the other students. Even Instructor Van, though he didn't react, let out a heavy sigh as he anticipated how troublesome the Elric and Kaien combination would be.
After all the students had completed the first exercise in groups chosen by Instructor Van, we moved on to the second exercise…
Second exercise
Instructor Van stood in the center of the arena, his hands folded as usual. "Kade, Draymoor, Elric. You three step forward. Defense, offense, and distraction. Show your cooperation."
Damian, Kaien, and Elric stepped forward. As soon as the instructor waved his hand, several more advanced magical wooden dummies emerged from the circle of light on the arena floor. They were larger than ordinary wooden dummies, and their movements were noticeably faster.
Damian immediately raised his hand. Pillars of ice rose from the ground, forming a solid wall that blocked off the main entrance. Small explosions rang out as the dummies impacted the frozen surface, but the ice held firm.
Meanwhile, Elric laughed heartily as he channeled mana into the arena surface.
"Time to show!" Elric shouted.
From the surface, large rocks coalesced to form a giant golem. The creature moved stiffly but powerfully, charging straight through the line of dummies, striking them with brutal blows.
Kaien, unlike the boisterous Elric, remained calm. A glowing magic circle appeared beneath his feet. A magical wolf appeared, its body darting swiftly around the arena. The creature attacked the puppets from the side, biting the legs of the wooden puppets, causing them to collapse.
The enemy's attacks intensified. Several puppets managed to escape the front row and approach Damian. He frowned and shouted, "Elric, can you be a little more controlled?"
Elric kicked one puppet, sending it flying, then laughed loudly. "The word 'controlled' isn't in my vocabulary!"
Damian could only sigh in frustration. But before he could mount a defense, Kaien's wolf leaped forward, blocking the attack that escaped the ice pillar. The creature growled, biting the puppet to pieces.
Damian turned, slightly surprised. "You…"
Kaien didn't turn around, just nodded slightly. "I said I could adapt to you guys."
Finally, after several chaotic minutes, all the puppets were destroyed. Damian's ice pillar remained standing, albeit cracked; Elric's golem collapsed heavily, and Kaien's wolf sat quietly by his side.
Instructor Van jotted something down on his whiteboard without much comment. From the stands, the other students could only chuckle at their fighting style—effective, yet chaotic.
Evening, Back Garden
The afternoon sky was a soft red, the last rays of sunlight filtering through the leaves in the academy's back garden.
Damian sat on a wooden bench. Beside him, Liam sat quietly, one hand holding a cup of warm tea he had just brought from the cafeteria.
From a distance, Elric's loud voice could be heard, mixed with Kaien's brief replies. The two stood not far from a large tree, still engrossed in their discussion of their ridiculous idea: a battle between Kaien's summoned magical wolf and Elric's stone golem. Elric's exaggerated hand gestures as he spoke caused several other students passing by to shake their heads with smiles.
Liam sighed, then shook his head slowly. "See? They really connect," he said, staring at the duo with a half-resigned expression.
Damian chuckled softly, gazing at the scene. "Yeah. Strangely… I'm starting to understand their conversation."
There was a brief silence. The afternoon breeze blew, gently rustling the leaves. Liam set his cup aside and turned to Damian more seriously. His eyes held a rare sincerity.
"Trust me, that's a good start. But don't delve too deeply into their conversation, Master Damian. You'll end up with a headache," Liam joked.
Damian nodded slowly, a faint smile on his lips. "Yes, Master Liam."
"Master Damiannnnnnnnn, that's not allowed, I'm your butler, Master Damian," Liam replied angrily.
Then Damian and Liam continued their usual bickering and joking around.