A deep sense of apprehension gripped all the cadets as they looked at the obstacle course in front of them. As if the deep mud was not enough, they could see portions of the course which required them to climb above walls using ropes, cross large gaps while hanging from a metal pole, and more.
While such a course would not normally be an issue, crossing it through the knee high mud would be difficult enough. Alongside the body weights that were being strapped onto certain cadets chests, it seemed this was going to be beyond arduous.
Though the sky above was bright blue, the mood on the ground was grey - with one notable exception! Nero looked out at the obstacle in front of him, and his earlier apprehension began to fade, replaced instead by excitement.
He had faced true, genuine horrors that craved nothing save to rip his body apart and claim his life. In front of such experiences, a mere obstacle course was naught but child’s play. But wasn’t that perfect?
Nero’s reputation was in tatters. Though those that knew him thought well of him, his fratricide case had dire repercussions that would not go away so easily.
Whether anyone realised it or not, he and his family were in a war against the Dom family. Although the assassination against him may not have been sponsored by them, they had gained benefits from it without so much as lifting a finger. Meanwhile, his future career in the military was jeopardised by the stain of that case. Even if it was proven to be untrue, the stain could not be removed - at least not so easily.
Yet here was the opportunity to start fighting back! Little by little, here in KMA, away from external influence, he could start to rebuild his reputation. He could start to reinvent his image, and establish a wide network. Here, he could grow unfettered, and this obstacle course would be the first step in doing that.
He had been struggling for a long time to reign in his arrogance, trying to stop himself from creating enemies, as per his parents’ repeated advice. Now, as if through an epiphany, he understood how he could do that!
He could suppress his arrogance using the only emotion he felt more intensely: ambition! To suit his needs, to acquire the kind of power that transcended the strength of his fists or the chill of his flames, he could reign in even his arrogance.
To do that... he could begin by surpassing the so-called prodigy of Astarties. What did Michelle say? His strength had not been so apparent at the start? In that case, Nero needed to be overwhelming right from the get go!
"Michelle, you said that Vilhelm got a perfect score in all his courses," Nero said as his gaze was fixed on the pits in front of him, his voice calm and unaffected by the daunting task ahead of him. "Is there a way to get beyond a perfect score? Like if you go above and beyond the requirements of a course?"
Michelle chuckled upon hearing that question, and looked at Nero with an amused smirk.
"Why? You think you’re a prodigy too? Going to give us a show, are you?" she asked, before shaking her head. "No, a perfect score is the maximum anyone can get, and even that is hard enough. By the way, an obstacle course is not the type of course I was talking about. I was referring to the academic courses."
Nero nodded, accepting the answer for what it was.
"No, I’m definitely no prodigy," Nero said, with the slightest hint of challenge in his voice. "But I am a Grant. I’ve worked day and night, shedding oceans of blood and sweat for everything I have today. I really want to see... how I fare against that prodigy of Astarties."
Nero stood there for a few more seconds before going down. Most of the rest of the battalion had already gone down and were standing in line, waiting to have their weights strapped onto them.
Nero noticed something standard. All Neophytes were getting lighter body weights strapped on, while all Initiates were getting heavier ones. Even then, the body weights were a standard weight. It was a bit unfair to anyone weaker than their peers, but this was an army academy. There was no such thing as fair here.
The competition would not start until everyone had their weights on and were ready. When it was Nero’s turn, he finally had an opportunity to ask how much the weights were.
"Neophytes get 20 kgs (44 lbs), while Initiates get 60 kgs (132 lbs)," answered the cadet strapping them on. "Honestly, I personally thought this was too easy but the others disagreed. Oh well."
Nero resisted the urge to roll his eyes and simply accepted the body weights as they were strapped onto his chest.
60 kgs was not such a significant weight to Nero, but moving through the mud with the additional weight would certainly wear him down. After that, all the parts of the course that required climbing and hanging made Nero feel like many cadets might actually not be able to finish the course. But that had nothing to do with him.
Once his body weight was strapped on, Nero lined up with his battalion and looked at the others. He was expecting to see Bael, since he too was eligible to join KMA, but he was absent. Since this course would be taken by all new cadets, he should have been here if he had joined.
His absence could only mean that he had failed to come. However, he did notice a few others who had joined him back in Perilith, such as Mel - the girl who could create healing tokens - and Gideon - the kid who could control some blades around him.
Nero doubted that, after so many months, Bael still hadn’t recovered from his trauma back then. Something else must have happened.
Regardless, he studied the faces of all the new cadets, memorising them. The cadets had been split into four groups, one for each battalion, and they would all enter the pits from different areas so that they couldn’t interfere with each other’s performance. It seemed that the chances for sabotage were nil in this particular trial.
"You’ve all been told the rules," announced one of the senior cadets once all the newcomers had lined up, ready to begin. "Remember, if the whole battalion doesn’t complete the course, it counts as the whole battalion failing. First battalion to finish gets a steak dinner - last goes to sleep hungry. Begin!"
A loud bang indicated the start of the course, and in one sweeping wave all the cadets jumped into the pits, ready to do their best... and quickly came to a grinding halt! The mud came only till their knees, but the resistance it offered was tremendous, slowing their initial charge to a near standstill!
But such a challenge was already expected. What no one had expected was that not only did the mud slow them down, it began to slowly sap the aether from their bodies!
A chill ran down the spines of all cadets as they realised that the mud was cursed! Holy freaking hell!
Watching the expressions of all the cadets change to horror, all the observing cadets laughed and chuckled amongst themselves. It seemed that they had been waiting exactly for this.
Yet Michelle was not laughing, nor was she smiling. Instead, she was observing Nero. Her innate ability let her see aether, which was a far more useful ability than most realised. Michelle was poised to become one of the fastest promoted officers in the history of the army, not only because she was on the verge of becoming an Arcanist in her third year, but because her research into aether had provided real and valuable contributions to the army. In fact, many believed that she would be promoted directly to major as soon as she graduated, skipping leftenant and captain ranks entirely! Her impact in the research world was going to be huge.
At the moment, though, she was observing the aether around Nero dance as it responded to his emotions. The fact that aether reacted to emotions was not something well known, but most of the time it hardly mattered as the fluctuations weren’t significant.
In Nero’s case, however, it was almost as if the aether yearned to be around him. This was a phenomenon she had only seen in Mystics and beyond. But, for the moment, the mystery of why the aether responded to Nero in such a unique way didn’t matter. She was trying to figure out why he was so excited!
Nero, instead of running, waded through the mud, slowly stepping to the front of his battalion before turning around to face them all.
"Enlil battalion!" he yelled loudly, suddenly attracting everyone’s attention. Even the cadets from the other battalions looked over, not to mention all the seniors.
"Even if we are just cadets, we are soldiers now!" Nero said loudly, his voice and expression filled with great conviction as he spoke, the aether around him resonating with his emotions and infecting those nearby with the same emotions.
"Not only is our future going to be filled with dire and deadly enemies, it is going to be filled with the responsibility to lead. Our every action, our every inaction will affect the very future of Kolar itself. The weight of lives saved, and lives lost will be on our shoulders!"
His words were serious, and solemn. Although many were curious about what his intentions were, they could not help but take him seriously, because what he said was true. The third years knew it better than the fresh cadets because of their experiences, but they all understood this truth. Some handled this weight better than others, but they would all face it!
"The future... is going to be hard. But today, today we get to play in the mud!"
Nero’s expression suddenly turned from solemn to that filled with excitement and zeal.
"Tomorrow, we may need to bear the weight of the world on our shoulders, but today we only need to bear the weight of this mud on our feet! So shed those expressions of dread, and come conquer this course with me! For honour! For victory! But most importantly, for a steak dinner! Come, Enlil battalion! "
Behind Nero’s sudden chant, the rest of his battalion, who suddenly felt the weight of this challenge lessen, chanted as well!
" Enlil! "
" Enlil! "
" Enlil! "
The mood in the pits suddenly changed, and the Enlil battalion was suddenly filled with vigor. Though it was still hard to move through the mud, for some reason, it seemed easier.
With a satisfied grin, Nero turned around once more, and looked upon the pit that was to be the first obstacle.
"The prodigy of the Astarties battalion... or the monster of the Enlil..." he muttered to himself before leaning forward, digging his feet into the ground, and bursting into a run.
No cursed mud, no body weights, no mere obstacle course were going to stop him. This... was merely the first step!