"There is one thing, though," Nero continued, ignoring the clear regret and lament painted on Silas and Wendy’s faces. "No matter what we do, we cannot do it ignorantly. I’m going to need some time to understand all the basics of how things work at KMA. Silas, Wendy, I’m going to need a copy of your class schedules, and I’d also appreciate it if you can tell me all the important things that happened in your last semester."
Silas immediately began to recall all that had happened last semester, too used to listening to Nero, but Wendy was not so easily convinced.
"Nero, doing additional training sounds good in theory, but it’s just not practical," she told him directly. "From morning till evening, we barely get any free time at all. During the entire day, the only actual free time we get is the two hours before lights out, and even during that we usually have to revise stuff from class or participate in the Crucible challenges. It’s just not humanly possible to do any more than we are already doing. Besides, our semesters are designed by the best academics in the country - do you really think you can do better?"
Nero smiled softly, taking in the challenging expression on Wendy’s face. While there were some among his friends, like Silas, who trusted him blindly, there were also some who could not be so easily convinced. Though Nero had no doubt that Wendy would trust his every word if they were on a battlefield, this was not an arena in which he had proven himself, and so if he wanted her compliance he needed to show her that he knew what he was doing.
He didn’t mind. Wendy had every right to be critical of his claims. There was just one small misconception that she had.
For her, having every minute of every day scheduled out due to a rigorous training plan was a very new experience, but it was something Nero had been living with for years already. To him, not only was the routine not as refined as it could be, he also felt like it could be refined tremendously.
"You are right," Nero said to Wendy. "KMA probably has the best professors, best syllabus planners, and best instructors. I’m sure they’re also doing their best to cater to each cadet as best as they can. The issue is not with them, Wendy. The issue is with Silas, with you."
The sudden accusation took her by surprise, not expecting to get attacked out of the blue.
"I mean, it’s too soon for me to judge, but I noticed in my drills that the weight given to each cadet had been personalised. I expect that such fine tuning is probably applied across the board so that you get the most out of each day. I’m sure that, at the end of each day, you feel like you’ve made tremendous progress, and I’m not denying that. That’s not what I’m questioning. What I’m questioning is whether you really hit your limits, or are you just tired and don’t want to do more?"
Wendy did not respond immediately. Her first instinct was to argue that he had no idea what he was talking about, except that she knew full well how hard Nero pushed himself. These words, coming from anyone else, would have earned a scoff. But coming from someone who had spent years training to his utmost - to his genuine utmost - it gave her pause.
"It’s too soon for me to say anything yet, but personally I was not satisfied with my training today. Besides the classes and the training, in which I learned something new, the drills didn’t seem to serve much of a purpose for me. Maybe once they fine tune it to me specifically after a few more days, I won’t feel that way, but as of now, I don’t think it’s the best use of my time.
"I mean, sure, if I run long enough, or hard enough, my Initiate body will grow stronger. I’m not denying it, and in fact I realise how important it is. But there’s a point of diminishing returns. Were the hours I spent running laps really worth the return? I’m not convinced yet.
"That’s exactly why I said that I won’t act in ignorance. I need to understand KMA, the training a bit better before I make any decisions or actions. But while I take my time to understand the academy better, let me ask you this, Wendy. If you knew that, at the end of this month, you would have a life or death battle against an enemy stronger than you, how would you train this month?
"Would you go at the pace you’re going now, or would you find a way to push yourself farther? Would you find ways to gain more from the training you’re already being offered? If, when you had that fight, would you feel reassured that you’ve done your best to prepare for it, or would you have doubts about how much you pushed yourself?"
Once again, Wendy did not have a response. If she treated that scenario as if it was real - if she really had to fight for her life after a month - she knew that she would have found ways to prepare even more than she was now.
"If there’s nothing else I can add, then in the two free hours we have every day, I can at least help you train in combat. I don’t know how much it can help you after the academy, but at least for now, it can help you with the Crucible list."
Wendy gave Nero an irritated look.
"Fine, fine, you’re right. Maybe I was getting a little complacent, just doing what the professors told me, without trying to go beyond. Seeing your face, I suddenly had flashbacks of Lumina, and everything that happened there. I guess I can train a little more. What do you want to know? I bet it’ll be about Gabriel. Let me tell you a funny story about him..."
Just like that, Wendy relented, and began to tell Nero about everything that had happened during the previous semester. That included what happened among the cadets, as well as how the academy trained them.
While Nero was chatting with Wendy and Silas, acquiring intel, within the Astarties Lines a number of cadets sat in the mess, lounging. Some were faces that Nero knew, though most would have been unfamiliar to him.
While most of them, even while lounging, were thinking about training or planning for their classes, there was one group that really was just sitting and resting, though that was mostly because of one person around whom the group had congregated.
"Hey Vilhelm, have you heard? There’s a new cadet who’s trying to break your records," said a cadet as he walked up to the group.
Vilhelm, a tall, handsome young man, took a moment to respond, since he was too preoccupied with the novel he was reading.
"Huh? My record? Which one?" he asked, sounding tremendously arrogant without actually meaning to.
"All of them," the cadet responded as he came and joined the group. "Word has it that he asked Michelle all about your feats - what you did and didn’t do during your first semester. Then he set out to surpass you, standing out during the trial course for the new cadets."
Vilhelm listened, and then smiled proudly.
"Well, if my achievements can motivate the new cadets to work hard to try and surpass me, then I suppose I’ve made a small contribution to KMA. I’m glad that the new batch of cadets has some strong candidates."
The cadet who had spoken earlier felt... deflated. Despite holding the title of prodigy, and making such a big impact on their entire collective batch, Vilhelm really didn’t have the ego to match his position. It was near impossible to provoke him or make him feel challenged or threatened. His attitude, despite all that he had achieved, was the most casual of anyone they’d met at KMA.
Or maybe it was just blatant, undisguised confidence. Maybe Vilhelm just knew that no matter how hard everyone else tried, no matter what they did, they would never be able to match up to him.
"What’s his name?" asked another cadet.
The disappointed cadet finally felt a little better, now that someone was paying attention to his story at least.
"Nero Grant. He was admitted into the Enlil battalion," he said. Yet as soon as he uttered the words, the group noticed that one of them had a response to the name.
"You know him, Arter?" one of them asked the cadet with light blue hair.
This time, even Vilhelm looked over in interest. Among the whole group, besides him, Arter was the strongest. Just because he had won in a Crucible challenge did not mean he was arrogant enough to think he was stronger in a real fight. After all, they had not used their abilities at all.
"Yes. I can’t say I know him too well, but I know him well enough. It’s no surprise that he stood out in the course, he’s quite strong," Arter said as he recalled the last time he had met Nero. It had been many months, but his impression on Arter had not faded in the slightest.
"Oh? Is he stronger than you?" one of the cadets asked in a teasing voice, but they were not expecting him to nod so easily, and so quickly.
"It’s been a while, so things might have changed. But the last time we met, I admit, he was stronger than me. He saved my life on more than one occasion."
The whole group went silent, not expecting such a response, especially since Arter was no push over. Even Vilhelm closed his novel for a moment.
"Do you think he could beat me in a fight?" Vilhelm asked, a subtle hint of excitement in his voice. Someone who had the respect of Arter was someone deserving of his curiosity.
Arter thought for a moment before answering.
"Like I said, it’s been a while since I saw him, so I can’t say. I think in a Crucible challenge, you could probably win. But from what I know of him, he’s a very focused and dedicated guy. If his goal is to beat you in a Crucible challenge, then it would be a tough fight. However, if you fought him in a real fight, or, Sage forbid, in a life or death battle, then he would win, I’m sure of it."
Once again, silence. No one knew how to respond to that. Vilhelm could win in a Crucible challenge, but would lose in a real fight? Wasn’t that the same as calling Vilhelm a weakling in a real fight? Was Arter trying to pick a fight?
"So you’re saying he’s stronger than Vilhelm?" someone asked for clarification.
Arter looked at the group and suppressed the feeling of irritation he felt deep within. He was too used to being the one others wanted to make friends with - he was not used to having to win over someone else’s favour, but such was life. Still, among this entire group, there was not one who he looked favourably upon - Vilhelm included!
"Can a fight only be won if you’re stronger? Can an enemy only be killed if you wield a sharper weapon? Can you only lead an army if you’re a Sage? Some things can be true, independent of these external things. Whether Vilhelm is stronger or Nero, I cannot say. But in a fight to the death, Nero will not lose even against a stronger opponent. That I have already seen with my own eyes. He... is a good soldier."
While everyone else felt like Arter might be trying to provoke a fight between Vilhelm and Nero, Vilhelm himself did not think that was the case. He could sense the genuine praise in Arter’s voice, and that’s what excited.
He looked at the novel in his hand and wondered if Nero could be a worthy rival for him in his story.