~Leandros POV~
Speaking of Which...
"Ready for today's training." I asked
"You bet! I've been waiting for a long time for this!" Ariston shouted excitedly.
"Pretty much, we're just waiting for the communal head, and the person they sent to train us." Drakonis added.
"Haaaaah~... why are we even doing this to begin with? No matter how hard we train, most Doryan can't match an Amazonian in terms of overall physical abilities and skills."
"Instead we could use this time to.. ywaaaah.. sleep." Tyrian loudly yawned.
Ariston quickly snapped as he heard Tyrian lazy voice, "Excuse me!? We're training so we can obviously learn to defend ourselves and protect our brothers and sisters during times of crisis!"
"Also who said a Doryan can't be as skilled or powerful compared to an Amazonian!?"
Tyrian simply scoffed, "Oh I wonder~, could it be the fact that we were quite literally made by the Goddesses as a domestic weaker race? All for or our sisters with the PURPOSE of make us breeding partners."
His tone turned colder, more serious.
"Honestly, if it weren't for the Amazonians accepting us as equals instead of sex slaves, and the Goddesses mistake of overlooking our potential to be Kardiomagos, we'd have no way to become as strong as our sisters."
"Hey you don—!"
"Enough the both you."I said raising my voice in seriousness, and thanks to the Aura Farming skill, my voice came out in way that drew their attention.
Like children caught misbehaving, Ariston and Tyrian quickly averted their gazes. After a brief glare at each other, they both turned away with a huff.
Drakonis let out a quiet chuckle, shaking his head. "Seriously… can you two go a single day without butting heads?"
Right… from what I remember, those two have always been like this.
"Well it seems you thr—four are energetic as usual." Then a voice of an older man came from the dinning room entrance.
A man in their early 30's, possessing a decent muscular build typical of all Doryans, came in with a gentle expression on they're face, our communal head Cassian.
However, more noticeably was the person next to Cassian. A large muscular caucasian women primarily wearing a bronze breastplate, shoulder guards, shin guards, and leather garments. At her sides are a gladius-style sword and small round shield, while in her right hand is a spear.
Looking at us with a serious and gentle expression she began to introduce herself, "Hello, my name is Pyraegis Agornis, I am an Amazonian sea hunter... and I'll be your combat instructor for the next 5 years."
After hearing her introduction Ariston face lit up like a fanboy, "WOW! An actual sea hunter is going to be our teacher! Does that mean were going to kill sea monsters!"
"Don't be ridiculous you idiot." Tyrian muttered flatly.
"Wha!—don't call me an idiot you lazy prick!" Ariston shot back.
"Fufufu~" Pyraegis let out a soft, amused laugh. "I'm afraid not."
Her expression softened slightly, though her presence remained imposing.
"You won't be facing sea monsters… at least not until on the day of your graduation."
Pyraegis turn her face to Cassian, "l'll be taking them with me now to gather the other students before heading to the training grounds."
Cassian nodded at her and then looked at us four, "You four had better listen to her instructions and behave yourselves. Understood?"
"Of course." "Sure..." "Promise!" "..."
Tyrian's half-hearted response earned him a brief glance from me, but I didn't say anything.
And just like that we began to follow Pyraegis as she pick up the other students, which totalled to 15 Doryan including me, Ariston, Drakonis, and Ariston, before we made way to a training field.
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[3rd Person POV]
The training field sat on a wide stretch of grass near the beach, where the steady sound of waves and the salty sea breeze filled the air. The ground was worn in places from constant use, with simple wooden obstacles like climbing frames, balance logs, and striking posts scattered around.
Practice dummies and racks of wooden weapons stood nearby, and beyond the field, the grass faded into sand and the ocean shimmered in the distance, giving the place a nice calm backdrop.
Leandros and the other Doryans were lined up in formation, standing tall and attentive like a small military unit.
Pyraegis didn't waste any time on unnecessary words and began explaining the day's routine. "Today, we begin your training, first, you'll start with a series of physical exercises. After that, you'll run a few laps around the field, and finally, you'll make your way through the obstacle course–"
Before Pyraegis could finish, she was interrupted by one of the Doryans,"U-um I'm sorry for interrupting, but shouldn't we practicing how to weapons..?"
"Are you doubting today's lesson" Pyraegis said as she raise an eyebrow.
"Wha–No!No!–I-I just—"
"Curious?" she said in a calm, gentle voice.
Seeing she didn't get upset at him for interrupting, the young Doryan relaxed slightly before nodding quickly.
Her gaze lingered on him for a moment before sweeping over the rest of the students. "I understand that some of you may have been expecting to learn how to use a weapon today. But before you even think about holding one, you need to understand your own physical limits first."
"Your strength, endurance, stamina, speed, speed, flexibility, and many other factors... are the fundamentals you must gauge before anything else."
She paused, letting them digest her words before she continued, "Combat isn't just about brute strength. It's about knowing your body, what it can do, what it's able to endure, and learning what must be improve to move forward. The better you understand these limits, the more effective you will be in combat, no matter the weapon or style."
"In simple terms, training your body is the first and most important step, and like it or not, for the first year of your training, you will be doing nothing but physical exercises until reach an acceptable standard."
"By the Gods kill me now..." Tyrian sharply muttered, clearly not excited by the prospect.
For Ariston who was getting giddy with excitement again, while Drakonis remained composed with a small, confident smile on his face.
Leandros was quietly thinking to himself, 'While I'm training I should also use this time to see I can rack up any achievements for gacha tickets.'
'Become the best among my current peers... beat them in all training categories... or maybe I should try to get Pyraegis attention?'
'Bah! I'll just do everything and try to be one of those obnoxious overachiever as much as possible.'
Pyraegis clasped her hands behind her back."Any other questions."
"...."
"Good."
"We'll start with endurance, all of you will run laps around the training field for as long as you can."
She pointed to the perimeter, where the grass curved along the edge of the beach that encircle the training field.
"Once you reach your limit, return to this spot. Please do not overstrain your body to the point of injury… but do not be lazy and give up early either."
Her eyes narrowed slightly, "I will be watching."
"..."
"Well? go on!"
The Doryans quickly shifted into position, although she didn't intentionally mean, each of them, including Leandros group, had a slight cold sweet, feeling the weight of Pyraegis' gaze like a physical pressure on their shoulders.
The salty breeze blew through our hair, carrying the faint sound of waves crashing against the shore.
Ariston bounced on his heels impatiently. "Come on! Let's get moving already!"
"Try to keep that energy in check, Ariston," Drakonis said smoothly, a small smirk tugging at his lips. "You'll burn out before we even hit the first lap."
Tyrian stretched his arms with exaggerated laziness, letting out another yawn. "Hah… I just hope this doesn't take too long..."
Leandros suppressed a small sigh, 'since this will be an endurance test I should naturally conserve as much stamina as I possibly can, and keep an even pace.'
Pyraegis stepped closer, her presence radiating a quiet authority that made everyone straighten involuntarily. "I'll say this once more, this isn't a race against each other, at least not entirely. This is a race against your current self, and although you may not understand right away, you will throughout the year."
She raised her spear slightly, using it to point toward the perimeter. "On my mark, begin running. Keep your pace steady and I will call out intervals to check your form and stamina to provide some advice how to... 'run' better."
"This will also allow me to see if any of you did ignore my earlier warning, if which you did, will result in a minor punishment."
The line tensed, everyone glancing at one another. Drakonis' calm demeanor contrasted sharply with Ariston's bubbling excitement which at point is his default emotion by now, and Tyrian's barely contained reluctance.
Leadros felt a familiar spark of competitiveness ignite within him, this was a chance to prove himself, not just to his current peers, but to her. Of course said 'spark' was mainly fueled by the desire of the gacha tickets as a result, but a spark none the less.
Pyraegis' voice cut through the air. "Alright then, let's begin."
"Ready… set… GO!"
We surged forward, the grass soft beneath our feet, our lungs filling with the sharp tang of salt and sea spray.
Immediately, Ariston bolted ahead, his enthusiasm carrying him like a gust of wind.
Drakonis having a similar idea to Leandros maintained a steady measured pace, both now running side by side and trying their best to reserve energy
As for Tyrian....
"F-F*ck!... this...! is… s-so f*cking pointless…!!"
Unsurprisingly, lagged behind initially, letting out a halfhearted but already exhausted groan.
The first few laps were deceptively simple, just keep moving, but Pyraegis' sharp gaze didn't miss a single stride. She circled the field, occasionally calling out corrections.
"Keep your back straight!"
"Don't let your shoulders slump!"
"Breathe evenly, or you'll burn out faster!"
"You off the track now, are trying to injure yourself!?"
"You in the back, I can see you slacking off, move forward!"
At some point she even began to run with us, calling out corrections with more frequency as she notice how some of them kept making mistakes the more laps they ran, even noticing a student overworking their body and forcibly taking them off the field.
At some point, she even began running alongside them, even with her armor, her movements were effortless, her breathing steady, and look completely at ease.
As the laps dragged on, mistakes became more frequent. Students began to falter, some losing their posture, and others struggling to maintain their rhythm.
Pyraegis adjusted accordingly, increasing her corrections and stepping in when necessary. At one point, she grabbed a student by the shoulder and pulled him off the track entirely
Ariston was now visibly struggling, his earlier explosive pace in the first lap catching up to him. His breathing grew heavy, his steps less stable, and his speed dropped significantly. Having fallen behind Drakonis and Leandros, but his determination was still burning strong.
Tyrian, meanwhile, looked absolutely ragged. His face now pale, and his breathing uneven, he had long since stopped complaining, not out of choice, but simply because he physically couldn't anymore. Though mentally he hasn't stopped...
Yet surprisingly… Tyrian was still keeping up, barely. Trailing behind Ariston by only a couple of strides, stubbornly refusing to stop.
However, the rhythm of pounding footsteps began to fracture.
Slowly what started as a steady pace had long since turned into a test of will. Breathing grew heavier, strides less stable, and the once-even formation stretched into uneven gaps across the field.
Some Doryans had already left and were waiting at the spot from either spending all of their initial stamina in the beginning laps, or those with weaker physical abilities.
Leandros could feel the creeping burn in his calves, the tightening in his lungs, and each inhale carried a faint taste of salt.
Unlike all the other others, thanks to the traits [Adept Discipline] & [Disciple], made Leandros like a fish in water, with every stride and breathing pattern being corrected by Pyraegis, Leandros was able to pick it up pretty quickly.
'This kid... quite the quick learner ain't he.' Pyraegis thought as she saw him picking up her lesson decently quick.
Beside Leandros, Drakonis was still holding steady, though the subtle tension in his shoulders and his now more serious expression gave away the effort it took.
Ariston pushed on stubbornly, though now he was in the far back, struggling with his movements but refuse to quit.
But even further behind them...
"...Tsk!…" Tyrian's steps faltered.
At first, it was small barely noticeable, slight drag in his stride, and a hitch in his breathing.
Then another... And another.
"You... know... what?—f*ck this!" he muttered between breaths.
Tyrian clenched his jaw, forcing his legs forward. For a moment, it looked like he might push through, like sheer stubbornness alone would carry him.
But then just like that he stopped.
"...I'm done."
The words came out flat, devoid of energy.
Tyrian bent forward, hands on his knees, gasping for air as his chest heaved violently. Sweat dripped from his chin onto the grass below.
"I'm… can't… do… anymore…" he muttered, extremely exhausted.
Pyraegis stopped running and went to Tyrian, giving looking a look over before saying, "Okay, doesn't like your faking, and your body certainly looks to be at their limit... good, you can take a break at the spot now."
"Or do you need me to carry you over there like the others."
"Carry... definitely carry..." Tyrian said as he almost fell over, before being caught by Pyraegis in a princess carry.
Leandros seeing this couldn't help but shake his head, 'Na uh! No way that's happening to me.'
Whether it was the stupid pride as a guy, or maybe because of worrying over loss aura, he refuse to be carried like that, and promise himself that wouldn't be him during training.
Soon as an hour or 2 passes, practically almost everyone was off the training course, Leaving only Leandros, Drakonis, and two other unamed Doryans that had just quit.
Ariston was forcibly called off track by Pyraegis after seeing him trying to push himself four laps earlier.
In another 10 minutes Drakonis had also given up, leaving Leandros the only current runner.
Who despite looking just as ragged as Tyrian now, kept on running with Ariston level of enthusiasm and Drakonis steady pace.
"Alright! That's enough for now Leandros!"
"You can come here now!"
Pyraegis seeing he wasn't gonna stop, had decided that was enough from for now.
'Not only is he a quick learner, he's also got quite the endurance and focused.'
Achievement(Last One Breathing Wins); Become the last runner from an endurance race, +1 Skill Bronze Ticket.
Achievement(Noteworthy); Get the attention and approval of your Amazonian Instructor, +1 Trait Bronze Ticket.
Leandros paused, before smiling. 'Hell yeah! Maybe only bronze tickets, but still… tickets!'
With that, the first half of today's training was complete.
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Author: Hey everyone, I'm back!
Sorry, I took forever trying to make this chapter, it's unfortunate I can only give you guys this single chapter after making you wait so long....😅
Anyways, my current grades are also doing much better, though pretty soon I'll be doing clinical classes so my current uploading schedule will probably stay at an atrocious level.
But hopefully I can at least upload a chapter in every 2 weeks.
Also, let me know what you think of the story and what I can improve upon!