At 8 a.m. the next day, a sudden, awful noise spread throughout the dormitory, signaling the time to get up from bed. Kane, annoyed and unused to such early and sudden wake-ups from sleep, reluctantly got out of bed slowly, pulling back the quilt. Looking around the room and seeing from his sleepy roommates that they also had problems with such waking-ups, he got a little better, got up from the creaky bed, and walked over to the closet to change before the others got up.

Hearing outside the door the scurry of children starting to go to the training ground, Kane headed outside in silence, leaving the rest who were just getting up from their beds. As he walked through the hallways, he could see doors starting to open, with more children coming out, though still in small numbers. After going outside, the cloudy sky from the previous day was still visible.

There were already ten tutors standing on the training ground, waiting for their groups. Kane was the first of his group to line up in front of the yawning Nilon, starting the row in which the rest of the children would line up.

As he waited for the rest, Kane began looking around at the other groups, looking curiously at the other tutors. The boy, who was clever and intelligent for his age, concluded from the different weapons of the attendants that each had a different fighting style. 

After the events in the village, he had prematurely matured despite his age during his stay at the orphanage, which was clearly evident from the way he saw the world and thought, although not everyone had yet managed to notice. From other people's perspectives, he was a gloomy boy, but in fact he had lost sight of his childlike joy and looked at everything rationally and thought logically, thinking first and acting later, compared to his peers who did the opposite.

Kane had been thinking all his life that everyone in the military had the same equipment and fighting style, but the various weapons of the tutors contradicted this, so he asked his tutor.

"Excuse me, I have a question."

"I'm listening."

Nilon replied contentedly, seeing that the boy was slowly beginning to take an interest in the military.

"Because all this time it seemed to me that everyone in the army had the same weapons and fighting style, but looking at the weapons of each of the tutors, it seems to me that everyone has a different fighting style and weapons, right?"

The two tutors next to Nilon looked at Kane with beady eyes, knowing that he was the first person to point out something like this on his first day, before training on top of that.

"Yes, up to the rank of knight, everyone learns the same, so the equipment and fighting style you will have is the same, with exceptions for some people because there will always be some with a talent for the sword. It is only when you reach a rank higher than knight, meaning Local Defense Chief or Lower Swordsman, that instead of training under a mass amount of knights, you will start to choose your own weapons and individual fighting style to practice."

As they talked, almost everyone had gathered around their tutors. Kane realized that each group had about 50 people, meaning a total of nearly 500 recruits would be training in Byrock.

Lorenz Shaster, after being informed that everyone had gathered, began his speech.

"Today is your first day of training, there is no place here for complaining or refusing to follow orders, otherwise, you will be punished. Starting today, you will begin to build up your muscles and stamina, as well as your fighting skills, starting with the basics. The person who fully masters the attitudes will become a Lower Knight. Your basic training for the Forsteck Kingdom's troops will end when you pass a test to verify your skills, and upon passing it, you will receive the rank of Knight. Now, 10 laps around the training ground to start! Immediately!"

"Eeeehh!?"

All the children sighed.

"There! Or I'll add five more laps for you!"

The training ground was huge to accommodate all the people and to be able to train freely, which means that 10 laps around such a place is a huge distance, especially for people who are mostly not even 12 years old.

As the new recruits were running, the mentors gathered and began to reminisce about previous groups from years ago

"Ahh, it went fast, some went away, and more kids came".

"Right, I'm slowly starting to feel like we're some kind of factory for soldiers".

"Actually, we are making soldiers in masses, but for that, yesterday when we were at the tests, a lot of people came in with predispositions for the Ren, almost a new record."

"11% went to masters this year to train, it's interesting to see how many were in other military schools."

"For now, let's focus on those, if we teach them discipline from the beginning, it will make life easier for both us and them."

"I hope we get them done quickly, because I don't want to learn more than 3 years of the basics."

"Better long and decent than for them to die in the first battle".

"In general, 10 laps will not exhaust them at the start? After all, they are still kids, it's better to give them 5 at the start to warm up and before lunch another 10, so they have the strength to do anything."

"Then we'll give them 10 each in the morning and before lunch"

"Even better"

Kane, on his third lap, was already starting to feel tired, especially since, compared to other children who ran around playing all day, he sat and did nothing, so he has absolutely no stamina.

Minutes passed, and more and more of the runners slowed down to a jog, because whenever someone started walking instead of running, they were punished by the tutors.

After the run, when Lorenz Shaster rang the bell, everyone fell to the ground, trying to catch their breath. Only after a reminder from the tutors about breakfast did everyone get up and, with no strength in their legs, slowly walk to the dining hall.

The children, not hiding the satisfaction on their faces, began to enter. All happy to quench their thirst, they sat down at tables in groups with their tutors or with people they already knew. Kane had yet to get along with anyone, so he decided that the best option would be to sit alone in a corner of the dining hall. He sat down in his seat and, watching everyone eat and talk, began to drink water.

After a while, to his surprise, Daren, Collin and Auren approached to sit down and have breakfast with Kane.

"Hi Kane, that run was overkill, halfway through, I already thought I was going to fall."

Sighing, Collin sits down next to him.

Kane looked at all the roommates sitting next to him, and felt an opportunity to get to know each other and not spend the next few years alone.

"It's going to be hard now, but in time we'll get used to it. I'm most interested in this study of swordsmanship."

Everyone was surprised to see Kane continue the conversation on his own, so they decided to take advantage of the situation and get to know something about him.

"Do you think you will be able to master Ren?"

Asked everyone, with Daren looking in Kane's direction.

"I don't know."

Collin briefly replied, focusing on his food.

"Basically no one knows, but as I recall the attack on my village, no one used the power that tutor Nilon mentioned, Daren, you said your uncle is in the army, maybe he mentioned something to you?"

Kane asked Daren, hoping for some information.

"From what he told me, Ren is rare among soldiers, maybe 5 out of 100 can use it.... Kane, because yesterday I wanted to ask you, and I didn't have a chance, what happened at the border in your villages when the Empire attac-."

He was interrupted by an angry Collin

"Are you stupid to ask? Probably half of the children were taken here by the attacks, and you're still bringing it up."

"Sorry, Kane, I shouldn't."

He bowed his head to Daren in apology

"Nothing happened, I've already managed to get over it."

Kane stated, showing no emotion as usual and finishing his slice of bread.

The tutors stood up and rang the bell that hung by the door.

"You have five minutes left, finish eating and go back to the training ground."

The recruits started walking back out for endurance training.

Stepping outside, the children saw backpacks filled to the top and tutors waiting for their groups.

"All of you go to your tutors and to the stations with exercise equipment, everyone put on the backpack you have in front of you and trots around the training ground for 2 hours".

It seemed rather easy to everyone, even if it is 2 hours, since all they needed was a trot and not a run. Only after at least picking up their backpacks did they understand what the catch was. The backpacks were filled with sand, so much so that when putting them on, some couldn't keep their balance and fell over.

"Backpacks on, and 2 hours from now, go!"

Some with a backpack on could barely stand up straight, not to mention trot. Kane, among others, had trouble keeping up to the others. But the chasing and shouting tutors effectively helped them get moving, with the threat of additional exercise after supper. Barely, but the children began to trot around the training area, after just the first 10 minutes, sweat was flowing out of everyone in streams, the only thing that helped was the cloudy weather, which with its cool breeze helped to feel a slight relief.

After the first hour, when the sun came out and began to beat the heat off everyone in the yard, slowly the first people began to drop out because they didn't have the strength to even stand up, and others simply passed out.

Kane's only thoughts as he ran were a glass of water and the sweat running down his eyes, His head was getting dizzy and his back and legs were starting to hurt from the weight, Everyone's trot turned into a slow walk, desperately trying to stay on their feet.

After 2 hours, 200 of the 500 people exercising in the square remained, the rest fell from exhaustion or passed out from overheating. Among the 200 people was Kane, who immediately after the whistle signaling the end fell on his face and fainted, but stood down thanks to his determination.

Kane didn't get off the ground until 10 minutes later, when he was hit in the face with a bucket of cold water from tutor Nilon. Lying on the ground with his tongue, caught the cold water mixed with salty sweat that flew onto his face, feeling more and more relieved. Propping himself up with his hands, he slowly stood up and looked around, seeing the passing tutors pouring water on the lying children.

After a moment, when everyone had come to their senses, tutor Lorenz shouted an announcement.

"Now that everyone is up, the break begins, You have half an hour to rest and drink the water, which you have to take at the door from the dormitory. When the break is over, we will do another run and go to lunch. Get up and enjoy the break!"

Said to everyone, clapping his hands to get the attention of people who had forgotten what was going on after passing out.

All of them, like living corpses sighing and complaining with shaking legs, like newborn deer, began to crowd to the baths of icy water, drinking and pouring it on themselves as if they had spent a month on the desert, then collapsing against the cold stone wall in the shade, they began to rest, not even having the strength to talk.

Thirty minutes were spent by all the recruits enjoying a moment of rest, the first time they felt such exertion. When the bell sounded, everyone instantly understood what awaited them now.... another run, Everyone was deprived of the will to live.

The tutors only laughed, looking at the exhausted, muttering children, but having no other choice. Fortunately for everyone, the pre-dinner run was without backpacks, just the usual 5 laps around the training ground. Seeing the state of the children, the tutors decided, however, to reduce the number of pre-dinner laps from 10 to 5 for the first month. Kane began to wonder during the run whether the worst part of it all was the physical exertion itself or the boredom he suffered during the endless laps.

As soon as the laps ended, without even stopping, everyone tiredly went to the dining hall, hungry and exhausted.