Nero walked expressionlessly back towards his barracks, his thoughts hidden behind his perfect mask. He had memorised the faces of the group of boys who had been staring at him. He did not recognise them, but he didn't like the way they were looking at him. It wasn't exactly a friendly look.
Hopefully, he was just imagining things. After all, considering how exhausting today had been - for most other recruits - he did not think they would have the energy or intention to make trouble for others. But there was no certainty in the matter. If they caused him any trouble, Nero would not hesitate to set them in their place.
"Nero, wait up," Silas yelled as he awkwardly jogged up to him. His entire body was sore, as he was not used to such extraneous exercise, which made movement hard for him. He had imagined himself as a pure academic, which meant that even if he got drafted he would most likely be put in some department away from the battlefield.
Unfortunately, even if that would be the case, it would not spare him from having to experience basic training.
"Were you serious about what you said?" he asked, wincing from the pain in his legs.
"Which part? Though, I was serious about all of it."
"The part where you won't tell anyone what to do. I thought everyone had an agreement. Why else did they follow you on to the bus and listen to you all day?"
Nero gave Silas a side look.
"We're all recruits. They don't have any obligation to listen to me. At the same time, they have a very good reason to listen to me."
"What is that?" Silas asked, curious.
Nero chuckled.
"Why are you following me, Silas? Why do you listen to everything I say?"
Silas was stumped. He hadn't actually given it any thought. He always just stuck to Nero because he found him so impressive.
"Because... you seem like you know what you're doing..." Silas said in a tone that was more like he was asking a question than answering it.
Nero smirked.
"It's because they know the kind of person I am. It's because they know I can get results. It's a mutual understanding. But that does not in any way translate to an obligation to listen to me. With Hansel and the rest it's different, but not with the whole group. They have to decide for themselves what they want to do.
So do you, in fact. But I need your help with one thing, we'll have to take time out whenever we can."
"You need my help?" Silas asked, incredulously.
"Yes. I still haven't been able to make my innate card, and that's a weakness I need to fix. Being able to craft cards is a very basic skill, and even if I don't become a full fledged artisan, I should know how to craft some basic cards in case I ever lose mine in an emergency."
Silas nodded, perfectly accepting Nero's excuse without thinking more into it. The truth was a little more complex, but he didn't need to know that.
Back in the barracks the atmosphere was light, as none of the boys were in the mood to sleep just yet. They had already done all of their complaining before Nero arrived, and now were just chatting with each other.
Nero grinned, and didn't miss the chance to participate in the banter. There were about sixteen recruits in each room, so he might as well become more familiar with them.
But the minutes passed quickly, like wind through the fingers of a hand trying to grasp it. Soon, their hour-long break ended, and a siren announced lights out. Even if they didn't want to, everyone tucked themselves in, as they knew tomorrow would be a rough day. They were right.
Nero was already used to waking up absurdly early, and was always on his guard. He woke up the instant someone marched into their room, but no one else did. That was, until, the soldier who marched in pulled out a bullhorn and shouted!
"Rise and shine recruits. You have ten minutes to shower and present in the same track field as yesterday!"
Nero bolted, even as the rest stumbled out of bed, still half asleep. He showered at his fastest speed, and was the first recruit out on the track. The major, alongside a number of other soldiers, were already standing there, looking at their watches.
Most recruits managed to make it to the track in time, though there were at least thirty who didn't.
"Sergeant Dan, for every minute the recruits are late, give them ten minutes in the Scorcher room. Then bring them to the others."
A thin man with a neat beard who was standing behind the major saluted, and then quickly marched away. Some of the students who were running to join the group tried to plead, but it was of no use. They were escorted away.
The major looked at all the recruits, his face impassive. He did not reveal whether he was pleased or disappointed at how many of them had shown up.
"From today onwards, your training will begin," he said in a matter of fact way. "You will be divided into fireteams of five each, and for the duration of this training your teams will remain fixed. There is not enough time to train you properly in everything you need to learn, so we will be focusing on the most important parts.
"Learning how to operate in a team, as well as a thorough understanding of the various roles of each team member, is one of the most integral things you will learn, and it is the very foundation of everything that makes up the Kolar army. Everything is built on the cohesiveness of the fireteams.
"Besides that, you will all be getting a crash course on survival skills, as well as spell warfare. Your first evaluation will be in a month. Each fire team will be assigned an individual lieutenant who will supervise you and be responsible for training you.
"There will not be any second chances, so the result of your first evaluation will decide what your future here will look like, so don't hold back, and give it your all."
With that said, the major nodded to the soldiers beside him and left. A soldier stepped forward with a clipboard, and announced, "come forward as I call out your names. Your fireteams have already been decided. Nero Grant!"
Nero was surprised to be the first named that was called forward, but did not let them slow him down as he stepped towards the soldier.
"Henry Bafford, Charles Boey, Taylor Shimmy, Wendy Crawford."
Nero walked to the side, memorising his teammates' names. At least he got one person he knew on his team, which was a surprise. Wendy was no pushover, he was glad to have her. But his surprises did not end there, for he saw two familiar faces walking towards him. It was two of the boys who had been staring at him last night in the mess hall.
This was too much of a coincidence, and Nero was not much of a believer in coincidences. He said nothing, and simply stood aside as the rest of the fireteams were announced. The selection seemed random, or based on some metrics he was not aware of. At the very least, they did not even try to get students from the same schools together.
Some minor overlap was unavoidable, but for the most part they were divided up.
It made sense, since they had to learn to work with new people instead of those they already knew. Some of the fireteams were incomplete, since their recruits were still in the scorcher. That would be a significant drawback for them since they were about to head right into training.
They were once again brought to the buses and told to climb aboard.
"Take this time to get to know one another as best as you can. Since this is a crash course, you won't be getting the normal instruction of team breakups that new recruits usually get. Instead, you'll be learning on the field."
Nero and his team got on the bus, as well as a couple more teams, though each of the teams were sitting by themselves and already talking. Theirs was the only one which was oddly silent, an abnormality Wendy immediately picked up on.
Without a word, she fell in step with Nero, clearly showing that they knew each other.
Nero, ultimately, was the first to speak.
"Well, since we're going to be a team for the rest of training, we might as well get to know one another."
He had a jovial smile as he spoke, and held his hand out for Henry, who seemed like he was leading Charles, to shake.
"Might as well, right. Training is going to last at least a month," Henry responded, his voice quite relaxed. It did not seem like he had anything against Nero. Under normal circumstances, Nero would not have tested that, and would have left room for doubt. After all, they had done nothing more than stare at him yesterday.
But the fact that two of them then got on his team was too much of a coincidence for Nero to accept, so he decided to be proactive. He was not about to risk his evaluation in a month.
"Oh don't count on it," Nero said as he gripped Henry's hand so tightly that bones cracked. "I don't know what your game is Henry, but if you get in my way, I will kill you. Don't try to test me."