It is now the second week of the first phase with a hundred and thirty recruits still left, and Brina is among them. It was quite a fortunate thing that she was a bit of an airhead. They say that fools like her should be brutes. If they can't outsmart others then they should be strong. So that is what she lived by, and that is why she was able to survive the first week.
She had fun and didn't think much of anything. But her luck was about to change. While Elena and her had become close friends during the first few days, there had been jealousy among the other girls. Though Elena thought of them as friends due to the limited number of women in this batch, the others didn't really think of it that way.
Especially Bernadeth, who somehow became the head of most of the women who managed to survive.
Bernadeth was a special case. Among them, she was a rich merchant's daughter, and she had a silver spoon in her mouth since she was a baby. But why was she here if that was so? Her father found her attitude to be unbecoming, so he sent her here so that she could learn some manners.
She was a bratty and spoiled child, and when she wanted something then she would always get it. It came to a point where her father had had enough of her as she was becoming more and more naughty by the day.
One day she committed a crime that her father found unbecoming of his name and status. Bernadeth treated one of their servants like a pig, and it just so happened that her father arrived home.
As Bernadeth was about to make a scene so that her father would side with her and the servant would be blamed, what happened instead was different from her schemes. She was scolded and slapped for the first time. Her father was as red as a Tomatooe (tomato variant).
Hence why she was sent here, and she wasn't allowed to return home until she achieved something that was worthy of their family name, the Lichtens.
Now during the first day, Bernadeth was actually wary of most people around her, hence she kept an eye on everyone, and she had already developed a scheme to have her own underlings. It was as if she never learned her lessons.
Although Bernadeth was frail and mostly girlish, she had an aptitude of never giving up on what she wanted. But during the first few days she almost gave up. She only managed to survive when she saw Brina from the other platoon having fun and enjoying the suffering they were being put into.
But she found it very distasteful to look at. How could another woman enjoy such torturous punishments? Was she a masochist perhaps?
Yes, I know Bernadeth was a sophisticated lady of the rich, so she thinks and acts like a rich person. Well, she wasn't rich. It was her father who was rich. But she had been influenced by her more fortunate upbringing and the social circle she was in before a conglomerate of other like minded brats.
And yes, this made a spark in her evil heart, a vow to crush this woman's (Brina) spirit. If not the training, then she would personally. She will find that girl's weakness and she will drive it straight into her mindless brain.
Brina and Bernadeth are like two sides of the extreme. One is scheming, intelligent, miserable, and has a fortunate upbringing. While Brina was an airhead, she was also headstrong and happy.
From one of their supposed girl bonding sessions, Bernadeth had her plan. She was going to humiliate Brina and bring her down a notch.
"Brina, tell us about yourself."
She asked. Of course Brina, without any thought, answered enthusiastically and without realizing that this was a trap made just for her.
"Yes! My name is Brina Feldwyn..." she said so on and so forth. After that, Bernadeth's mind had already achieved what she wanted, she had gained valuable information that she could use against her.
"Oh, so you are a country bumpkin, huh? What made you come here to the beautiful town of Helwind? Where did you say you came from again? Wyn...shit, or was it Nowhere? (smirk) Did you hear that, girls? This woman here is a country bumpkin. No wonder she wasn't as elegant as us during training."
Elena and those who had a poorer status understood what Bernadeth was getting at, and they knew she had some prestige to her name. Her father was famed and well respected by the town's people. They saw him as someone who was kind hearted. Contrary to him, his daughter was the exact opposite.
Now they understood the rumors about Bernadeth weren't just whispers in the wind but actual facts, and that she was sent here because of this.
While Elena and some other girls who are of poorer status frowned and felt insulted and attacked, there were also others who wanted to clutch onto the skirts of this rich woman. And there were also others that were like minded as her. They are those who felt superior just because they lived a little better than most.
On the other hand, Brina's head went sideways like a dog wondering what that meant. Elegant? What does that even mean? She was still smiling and whatnot, which just made Bernadeth more irked at her.
As a final resort, she declared to the group, "How about we leave this low rung nobody alone or else we might get affected by her poor status."
They laughed aloud and went away.
She was hoping that Brina would do something, that Brina would get angry by this. But what she didn't understand about Brina was that Brina couldn't understand what they had been talking about since then. She was still stuck on the word elegant and was thinking so hard at what that meant. Then her mind slowly drifted away. She was already in her mind fighting beasts, and then she and her brother had gone on a journey toward the capital city of Mindrifth.
So in all honesty, this bully called Bernadeth couldn't get what she wanted, a reaction of some sort to get Brina kicked out of the current batch of recruits. Her scheme involved having Brina get angry, as she thought she was ape brained and would attack her violently, then she would report Brina to the barracks commander for hitting her.
But none of this worked because Brina couldn't care less about any of this. She lived like a man, not so much like a proper woman or some sort, which made even her father worried for her and had associated such behavior as the reason why she was still not married.
When the other women had left, only a few remained, those who got offended. Elena and some three other girls.
Elena got close to Brina to compliment and console her, "You're amazing, Brina. You were able to withstand those bitches' schemes and didn't retaliate."
Brina, still absent minded, was brought back by her friend's voice. And as if she was shocked that their numbers had already lessened. "Huh?? Where did everyone go? Is it time to return to training?"
The other girls were in all honesty quite shocked by this turn of events. They thought that Brina was quite strong and wasn't affected. What they didn't realize was that Brina at that moment was no longer with them. She was daydreaming.
They all looked at each other and laughed at the situation, which made Brina even more confused.
The days that followed were interesting to say the least. Bernadeth continued her attempts to get under Brina's skin, but each time she failed spectacularly. During one training session, Bernadeth deliberately tripped near Brina, hoping she would be blamed for it. But Brina simply helped her up with a bright smile, asking if she was okay.
"Are you alright? That was a nasty fall. You should be more careful!"
Bernadeth's face turned red with anger and embarrassment. "I... I'm fine! Let go of me!"
She stormed off while her followers whispered among themselves, clearly confused by Brina's genuine concern.
Another time, during their meal break, Bernadeth made loud comments about how country folk probably ate like animals and didn't know proper table manners. Brina, meanwhile, was happily eating her food and chatting with Elena about whether she'd ever get to fight a real beast someday. She didn't even hear Bernadeth's insults.
"Sister Brina," Elena said quietly, using the familiar term they'd adopted for each other, "don't you get angry when she says those things?"
Brina looked genuinely confused. "What things?"
"Bernadeth. The way she talks about you."
"Oh." Brina thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "I don't really pay attention to her much. She talks a lot but doesn't really say anything important, you know? Like when the vendors at the market shout to get attention. It's just noise."
Elena stared at her, then burst out laughing. "You're something else, sister Brina."
The other girls who stuck with them, Mira, Sophia, and Jen, also found themselves drawn to Brina's simple but genuine nature. Mira was a blacksmith's daughter, strong and practical. Sophia came from a family of hunters, quiet but observant. Jen was a baker's daughter, cheerful and talkative.
They formed their own little group, supporting each other through the brutal training. While Bernadeth's group was larger, with about seven girls following her, Brina's group was tighter knit.
One afternoon during combat drills, Sergeant Vorik paired them off for practice sparring with wooden swords. By some twist of fate, or perhaps intentionally, he paired Brina with Bernadeth.
"This should be interesting," Vorik muttered to another instructor.
Bernadeth's eyes gleamed. Finally, a chance to humiliate this country bumpkin in front of everyone. She'd been taking private lessons in swordsmanship since she was a child. Surely she could beat someone who'd probably never held a weapon before.
"Try not to cry when you lose," Bernadeth said sweetly as they faced each other.
Brina just grinned. "Okay! Let's have fun!"
When Vorik gave the signal to begin, Bernadeth lunged forward with a textbook perfect strike, aiming for Brina's shoulder. It was a move designed to look good and hurt just enough to make a point.
But Brina wasn't there anymore. She'd simply stepped aside, her movements awkward but effective. Years of helping her father hunt and dodge her brother's playful attacks had given her decent reflexes, even if she had no formal training.
Bernadeth stumbled, her momentum carrying her past where Brina had been standing. She quickly recovered and tried again, this time with more force and less grace. But again, Brina dodged, though this time she nearly tripped over her own feet.
"Stand still!" Bernadeth hissed.
"But that's not how fighting works!" Brina replied cheerfully. "You're supposed to move around!"
The watching recruits started to murmur. Some were amused, others were impressed that Brina was holding her own despite her clumsy style.
Bernadeth's face was turning red. She abandoned all pretense of proper technique and just started swinging wildly, determined to land at least one hit.
Brina, for her part, was actually enjoying herself. This reminded her of playing with Ren when they were younger. She didn't even realize Bernadeth was trying to hurt her. She thought this was all part of the training, all in good fun.
Finally, in her frustration, Bernadeth overextended on a particularly vicious swing. Brina, on instinct, stepped in close and accidentally bumped into her. Bernadeth lost her balance completely and fell backward onto her rear end, her wooden sword flying out of her hand.
The training ground went silent for a moment. Then someone laughed. Then another. Soon several recruits were trying to stifle their amusement.
"Alright, that's enough!" Vorik called out, though even he seemed to be fighting a smile. "Bernadeth, get up. Brina, good instincts, but work on your footwork. Both of you, back in line!"
As they returned to their respective groups, Elena squeezed Brina's arm excitedly. "That was amazing!"
"Was it? I almost fell like three times."
"But you didn't! And you beat Bernadeth!"
"Beat her? We were just practicing."
Elena shook her head, still grinning. "Oh, sister Brina. Never change."
Meanwhile, Bernadeth was seething. Her followers tried to console her, making excuses about how she'd just slipped, but she knew the truth. She'd been embarrassed in front of everyone. And the worst part was that Brina didn't even seem to realize she'd won.
That evening, as Brina walked home, she was humming a tune her mother used to sing. She'd had a good day. The training was getting a bit easier as her body adjusted. She'd made some good friends. And that sparring exercise was fun, even if she wasn't very good at it yet.
She didn't notice Bernadeth watching her from across the street, plotting her next move.
Their days during training had become a lot more interesting than what they considered as brutal punishments. The physical challenges were still there, but now there was this whole other layer of social dynamics to navigate.
The second week of training went by with all its drama and challenges. Meanwhile, a lot more recruits had dropped out. Now there were a hundred and fifteen left out of a hundred and fifty.
But Brina was still there, still smiling, still oblivious to the war being waged around her.