The Phoenix Nest (2)

Auric followed Garrick, who led him towards their destination. Both refrained from asking any questions, seemingly cautious of each other.

As they walked, Auric caught sight of a field filled with children. They appeared older than him, possibly around twelve years old.

"It's time for the physical training," the instructor answered Auric's curious gaze. "Every morning, you have to be present here without any delay. If you're late, harsh punishment awaits you. Those are the fourth-year kids. It's their last year in the training hall."

"Are they all twelve years old?" Auric inquired.

"Well, some of them are thirteen-year-olds. Those guys failed the graduation exam, and two were injured."

"Oh... an injury that made them take a year to recover during training?"

"Well, the training is kind of harsh for the senior years. You'll know more about it later on."

As they passed through the training field, Auric could feel the curious and sometimes hostile gazes directed at him. However, he chose to ignore them. If someone didn't actively provoke him, he'd just brush off any animosity. He realized that not everyone would like him, especially since he was an outsider and a human, a race considered pitiful by many.

On their way to the dormitory, they passed two other fields—one for eleven-year-olds and the other for ten-year-olds. The reaction from these groups was similar to that of the twelve-year-olds, not welcoming towards Auric.

Finally, Garrick pointed at a house-like building with only one floor. "We've reached the barracks," he said. The building was plain and not much different from a normal house.

Inside, Auric saw what resembled a military training camp-style barracks, with a large square ground in the middle and various training structures and bars.

Following Garrick, Auric found himself standing in front of a room labeled "Dormitory 4."

"This is where you'll stay from now on. Take the fourth bed on the right; it's empty. Make yourself comfortable and be out in your training dress in 3 minutes! To the training ground!" the instructor instructed before leaving.

Auric observed the room, finding it quite spacious. There were 16 beds arranged in two rows of eight. Each student had a cupboard for personal belongings, and the room contained little else except blankets and three sets of uniforms.

Familiar with the military regimen from his past life, Auric quickly changed into his training attire and reached the training ground.

Arriving, he stood on the side for a few minutes as the instructor commanded the students to complete their sets quickly and gather.

"Here is Cadet Auric. You may know him, or well, may not. I don't give a damn about it! From now on, he will be training with all of you! So, teach him our ways, as he missed the past two years!"

"Now, get back to your positions!! Handstand pushups! 150 reps!! Start! The first one to finish will get rest until the last one finishes!!" the instructor commanded.

Auric watched as the cadets quickly got into position with no delay, showing their familiarity with the training routine.

"Huh! Why are you standing idle!! Get into position!! 200 reps for you!!! Start! And finish before they all finish their reps, or get an extra 50!! GO!" the instructor barked at Auric to join the training.

Auric had never done a handstand before and found himself in a dilemma. His body balance was not up to the mark to perform a handstand effortlessly.

<Is there anything in the system shop that can help me?> Auric sought, hoping for assistance.

[Bro, you gotta chill. Don't turn to the system every time you face a problem. Try to solve it on your own. Also, your SP balance is fucked up! it's zero. There's no way I can help. So, all you have is yourself. Enjoy!] the system replied.

<Fuck you!> Auric muttered, frustrated with the response.

"Haha, look at this guy. He can't even balance his body and claims he'll devour everyone! Ahahahhahah!" a voice suddenly came from behind Auric.

Turning around, he saw a guy with a smug face, grinning ear to ear, as if mocking Auric's helplessness.

"Look at the mighty heir of the Blackthorn house! HAH!" another one scoffed at him.

As he looked at them, it appeared that they had finished their reps and were now mocking him for his inability to perform handstands.

The other kids also completed their exercises and gathered around him, taunting and jeering at him.

Hearing their mocking voices, Auric felt the anger rising within him, and he had the urge to smash their heads open. However, he knew he couldn't act on that impulse. He didn't have enough power to take on all of them at once.

"HAH! YOU BRATS!!! Did I tell you all to move from your positions???" the instructor suddenly shouted from the front, approaching the group surrounding Auric.

"Open your shirts!!! On the sand now!!!" the instructor commanded without delay. Each trainee opened their shirts, revealing their bare bodies, and ran towards an area with sand, almost like a desert.

They all lined up on the sand and lay down.

Auric followed suit, but he had a bad feeling about what was to come.

His suspicions were proven right when his body started burning as soon as he touched the sand. He tried his best not to make any sound, not wanting to appear more pathetic than he already did.

"GO AND TOUCH THE POLE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SAND FIELD AND RETURN! The first one to arrive will be excused from the next punishment! GO!!" the instructor commanded, and a race began. Despite the burns, Auric mustered up the strength to join the task.

The trainees had their hands tied at the back and were using their shoulders and legs to crawl.

Squirming like worms, everyone gave their all to win the race as they sped up. They were well aware that the last one to arrive would have to complete another set of punishment all over again.

With great effort, thrashing and squirming, Auric finally completed the crawl. As he stood up, he noticed his whole body was red, and his chest and shoulders were burned from the scorching sand. Looking around, he saw nobody but the instructor staring at him with contempt.

"Tsk! What a useless brat! Can't even do handstands or a simple crawl! Go and join the others! They're already on their way to the next class!" the instructor shouted at him.

"Um, sir, I don't really know where they went, so..."

"FUCK!!! Go to the dormitory!! You'll find out!!"

"Yes!"

Grabbing his shirt from the ground, Auric sprinted towards the barracks.

Upon arriving, he saw everyone running with towels towards the middle of the barracks.

"What the hell is going on?" Auric watched as chaos ensued. In the middle of the field in the barrack, guys were running towards a handpump, forming lines to fill their buckets with water, and then washing themselves up on the side in the open.

Some other guys seemed to use water magic to rinse themselves up quickly and get dressed before leaving the barrack. Auric was flabbergasted by how fast everything was happening.

A guy, all dressed up and about to leave, approached him, saying, "Hey, what are you doing? You're gonna be late for classes! Go wash up and come out fast, or else you're gonna be punished!"

"Ah... I don't think I'll be able to wash up fast," Auric replied, pointing towards the chaotic scene at the handpump.

"FUCK!! Why do I always sympathize with others? Screw you! Come with me! Hell, I'm going to be punished by the captain!" the boy exclaimed as he grabbed Auric's hand and dragged him towards the pump.

Using water magic, the guy splashed and rained water on Auric, cleaning the dirt off him. It looked like this guy was a water element user.

"Just get all the grime off, dry yourself, and come out fast! You better be thankful! I'm going!" the guy said before rushing off.

"... Just what the hell happened?" Auric was still taken aback. A guy suddenly appeared, splashed water on him, and then ran off.

It seemed like the guy wanted to help Auric by cleaning the dirt off him.

"Well, I don't have much time." Running to his dormitory and changing to a new set of the uniform, he hurried to the entrance.

But what he saw there left him even more stunned.

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A/N - The training hall in this arc draws inspiration from my past hostel life in a military boarding school. It was a place where I experienced various emotions, from fun and joy to sadness and tragedies. The school's military-style ranking system will be incorporated into the story, and I'll infuse some of my personal experiences into Auric's journey, albeit with some exaggeration.

As I write Auric's experiences in this arc, I'll be adding elements from my own life, exaggerating certain stories while also releasing my frustrations about individuals who bullied me during my time there. In a way, Auric will fulfill the revenge I had imagined for those who wronged me.

I will also use their names, though with slight modifications, given the English names used in the novel. As their names are all fucked up names.

I hope this arc serves as a cathartic experience, allowing me to bury my grudges and frustrations through Auric's actions. Thank you for the powerstones and golden tickets. Your support means the world to me.

Happy reading!

Author (Shiroi) }