18 The First Training

(IMPORTANT NOTICE!

THIS CHAPTER WILL BE WRITTEN IN ARGO'S POV)

__________________________________

We gawked at the sight before us, completely ignoring the man in front of us. It was a wide expanse of beautiful lush green grass and a towering building constructed at the center of the valley.

The reason I was surprised was not because of the massive construct or the green grasses, but because the place we were in was too beautiful. It looked nothing like a military training camp, but like an exotic resort for relaxation. For a moment I wondered if we had arrived in the wrong place.

The young man coughed lightly to get our attention, and said. "Stop staring. Come, I'll show you around. Cherish this moment of freedom, cause you won't be this idle in a long, long time to come. Hehe."

I don't know how he managed to make his voice sound creepy, but it was working. I could feel chills on my back and I saw Harry shiver out of the corner of my eyes.

The Principal was nowhere to be found, and I assumed that he had left already. Sneaky bastard, he didn't even say goodbye. We followed the young man down the valley towards the massive building. Along the way, he introduced himself as Neo, the caretaker of Evergreen valley. 'Nice naming sense' I sarcastically said in my head.

Upon entering the building, we found out it was more massive than it looked from the outside. Neo marked out a portion of the building as a restricted zone. He warned us that venturing inside the restricted zone would lead to immediate expulsion from the camp, which would in turn lead to banishment from the turn and replacement by another student.

I could almost hear the sound of the others locking up the curiosity deep inside their minds, and throwing away the key.

Neo took us on a grand tour around the building. Due to how massive it was, we spent four hours on the tour, we had also stopped for lunch. We were then asked to go to sleep early because we would start training early the next morning.

*****

GBAM!

GBAM!

A very piercing bell sound rang out, and the door was fiercely kicked open. I awoke instantly, and gazed blankly at the soldier at the door.

"I AM YOUR TRAINING INSTRUCTOR, RACKVELLI! I'LL GIVE YOU ALL FIVE MINS TO ASSEMBLE AT THE DRILL GROUNDS."

As if he was afraid we wouldn't hear him, he shouted at the top of his voice making me wince. His voice was as loud as a trumpet.

"Fuck, are you kidding me? what time is it now?" I blurted out as I took a peek at my smartwatch. It was 1 Am! This guys are insane, I thought.

"I just went to sleep right now, is this military training or abuse?" Kenny complained bitterly. He had been busy with his smartwatch through the night, playing games and watching movies, I wasn't surprised to hear he slept late.

Rackvelli smiled at that. "Any of you who does not meet the training's requirement will be withdrawn from the team and be replaced by one of the eliminated students. I'm sure many of them would love for the opportunity to present itself." He smiled and clapped his hands. "Now, you only have four minutes and twenty seconds left."

He turned around and left after he finished speaking. The air in the room seemed to become fresher after he left, as the little bit of sleepiness iny mind evaporated.

I turned to look at the others, and was surprised to see Jared and Adah already finished getting ready. It was as if they had foreseen such a scenario and we're prepared for it.

I cursed at Jared as he walked towards the door. What happened to bro before hoes. He didn't even warn me about the early morning drill.

"Seems the principal is for real this time, eh team leader?" Jared laughed and patted my shoulder as he left.

I cursed him again.

Six minutes later, I finally arrived at the drill grounds. Me and Kenny were the last to arrive, and we arrived a minute after the deadline.

The instructor smiled sinisterly and and as us to drop and give him 1 thousand. Due to the body strengthening I had previously taken, my whole body had been enhanced and I had abnormal strength, endurance and stamina. I could do push-ups all day long, and only feel slightly winded at best.

I immediately dropped to the ground and started my push-ups. While Kenny tried to protest. "Sir, I don't think that..."

"I don't care what you think. All those who have doubts may drop immediately to be replaced. No one is forced to stay. This is a military training camp, and everything is done in accordance to military regulations!" Rackvelli shouted the last part directly to Kenny's face, causing drips of spittle to land on his face.

Kenny blanched at the brutal rejection,and without a word further, he dropped beside me, and began his punishment. For a moment, there was no sound, except the sounds of heavy breathing coming from Kenny. He seemed really out of shape because he had already started struggling at the 150- something push-up.

That's what you get for not having your own awesome system. I gloated at him in my mind.

Five minutes later, I was done. I could have finished earlier, but I didn't want to scare the instructor and the rest of my team members...at least not too much.

My breath was still even after the push-ups, nothing like the breath of someone who had finished an intense workout. The instructor peered curiously at me for a moment before losing interest. I suppose he chalked it up to me being more physically fit than the others.

We had to wait another five minutes before Kenny pushed himself up with trembling arms to complete his punishment. He collapsed on the floor after completing it, and both the instructor, me and my other team members did not spare a glance at him.

The instructor peered at his smartwatch before looking up and saying. "Today, your first training will be standing in the horse stance for eight hours!"

I could hear Kenny groaning on the floor.