Nero ended up missing Professor Isabella’s class, which she was not happy about in the least - bedridden or not. While he swore he’d cover the content from the book, that did not replace the importance of the lecture at all.
Nero had a feeling that he would be receiving more punishments the next day, but that was a problem for later. Though his body was sore, the small nap in the doctor’s office had refreshed him mentally, so the rest of the classes went without issue.
Then came the noon drills, but Nero had no one to blame but himself for the problems he’d caused himself. Still, he didn’t seem defeated or troubled. Instead, he flashed Sergeant Renald a big smile before starting his pull ups. Even if he could bear the additional weight for a short time, he would be born out after repeated exercises. There was no amount of mental training that could make him ignore the fact that he was hitting his limits. But that was not a bad thing at all. This was one of the best, most stable ways of increasing his body’s strength and stamina.
Whatever punishment was in store for him was not delivered that day - likely due to some interference from Dr. Iris. The rest of the day went without issue, from food to training to afternoon training and team sports.
The food given to him due to the prescription was some kind of fruit he did not recognise. It was red with a hard, external shell with soft, doughy pulp inside. While the flavour was soft and pleasantly sour, it was the after effects of eating the fruit that grabbed his attention.
His entire body started to feel warm, as if he were floating in warm water. The sensation continued for a long time, and Nero noticed that even the soreness started to fade which was great because Nero had no intentions of losing in the sports either.
The game of volleyball from the day before made Nero realise that the purpose of the games was not just to promote teamwork and increase camaraderie. Instead, it included clever ways of practicing their aether control, which is exactly what he needed.
Today, instead of volleyball, they played a game called tennis. At first, it seemed straightforward but it carried hidden traits too. To start off, technique was absolutely mandatory, otherwise the ball would not only land in the court, it would go too high which made it much harder to score a point.
Then came the issue of the ball itself. Much like the volleyball from the day before, its weight changed. Yet the weight change was gradual. The moment that aether was transferred into it, it would gain weight. Yet the ball would continue to dissipate aether thereafter, causing the weight to decrease, which could affect the way that the ball travelled.
The issue was that unlike volleyball, where they could transmit aether directly from their hands, tennis required that they used rackets. While the rackets were great at conducting aether, they still increased the difficulty of the task.
Nero didn’t mind though. In fact, he found the whole game very enjoyable. Not only was he playing a game, but he treated the racket as a spear, practicing transmitting aether through weapons.
By the time free time came around, once again everyone was exhausted, but Nero was completely fresh. The red fruit and the small nap were showing their effects now, not that he would have let exhaustion stop him from doing what he needed to do today.
Not only did he need to superwise Silas’ fight, he also needed to start his own Crucible challenges, as well as gain permission to issue challenges to his seniors for he did not intend on wasting a whole month doing nothing.
Since he was now a little more familiar with the academy, he knew how to gain permission, but it wasn’t something he needed to get started on immediately. It would be best if he first established his position at the top of his semester.
Without waiting for the exhausted Luna or Bella to recover, he made his way to the Battle Arena. They would join once they caught their breath.
By the time he reached the arena, Silas had already arrived, yet Andrew was nowhere in sight. Nero and Silas exchanged glances. Silas looked incredibly pale, and even somewhat reluctant, but he did not shy away from the task Nero had given him. He would fight Andrew as if his life depended on it.
While earlier he would have been relieved if Andrew left him alone, now that he was looking at things from a different point of view... he just felt pain. The psychological pain of knowing he was about to experience physical pain! Dammit, why was life so tough?
Silas went off to search for Andrew, channeling his frustration into anger. If his life was about to be miserable, then he would make Andrew’s life miserable too.
Nero only nodded, and then walked up to a free referee.
"I want to issue a Crucible challenge, but none of the new cadets are here," Nero said, holding out his identification card.
The referee looked at Nero, and then the card.
"It’s a little early for the new cadets to be showing up here. Usually it takes about at least one week before they start getting used to the routine. If you want, I can issue a blanket statement to all the professors and any cadet who responds can be sent here."
Nero nodded. That was exactly what he wanted.
"Thanks. By the way, if no one is interested in accepting my challenges, can I challenge my seniors?" he asked curiously.
The referee only smirked instead of answering, sending out his challenge to the professors overseeing the new cadets.
Nero did not have to wait long. His performance in the beginning course had attracted a lot of attention, and a lot of the cadets wanted to face up against him. In only a few minutes, one of the professors reported back that his challenge had been accepted, and that the cadet was coming over to the battle arena.
At the same time, word of his challenge spread, and many of the new cadets started to make their way to the battle arena. They wanted to see just how capable this famous cadet was.